Solapur cops close to making arrests

Continued from page 01 DURING the investigation, mid- day reporter Shirish Vaktania joined SDCPL as a sales employee where he was one of 200 callers who dupe hundreds of people of lakhs every day. The callers offer gullible people, especially farmers, loans at zero per cent interest and take their money in the form of an advance EMI. They made the scam look genuine by offering the loans in the name of Bajaj Finance.

Sources at Wagle Estate police said they are verifying the complaint and cannot take suo motu action.

We are verifying the matter.

The complaint under the letterhead of Bajaj Finserv read: u201c The complainant ( Bajaj Finance Ltd) has no policy of asking customers to make advance payments in any bank account. The accused are committing illegal acts with the intent to cheat innocent public and the complainant company.

Also, the accused are earning illegally and causing loss to the complaint and the general public.u201d Bajaj Finserv also asked police to end the fake call centreu2019s operations.

SDCPL was unaware of its operations being exposed until a couple of Thane police officers visited the office at 12.37 pm and a team of police officers visited at 2.05 pm on Monday. Employees were told to go for lunch after the second visit.

Solapur police probes SDCPL Over a fortnight ago, a team from Sangola police station in Solapur ( Rural) visited SDCPL after a local businessman, Somnath Sutar, 34, and his friends Raju Sutar and Mahesh Kamble were duped of R 11.13 lakh by fake callers. Sub- Inspector Suresh Nalavade confirmed about the visit to mid- day. One woman and two men were hauled to Solapur in connection to the case.

u201c On January 21, 2019, I received a call from the number 8097141963. The caller introduced himself as Sachin Patil from Bajaj Finance, Goregaon East Mumbai. He offered me a loan on zero per cent interest by buying Bharati Axa Eliteu2019s 12- year insurance. A R 1 lakh insurance policy would get me a R 10 lakh loan. The companyu2019s representatives would call me regularly and offer a loan,u201d reads Somnath Sutaru2019s FIR which was registered in November, 2019.

u201c On January 25, a man named Vishal Phalke claiming to be an executive of Bharati Axa Elite Insurance company came to collect a cheque of R 83,500. I met him at the ST bus stand where he took my video and sent it to his senior. I too took his photograph in my mobile. Later, an executive Suhas Jagtap said that the policy paper would be sent to Bajaj Finance Company for a mortgage loan against the policy. I was also made to pay online again as they claimed that the payment system has changed.

They told me to refer the loan to friends, which I did,u201d Sutaru2019s FIR read further.

Sutar, his friends Raju and Mahesh were collectively duped of R 11,13,390 through seven different transactions.

u201c We have conducted an indepth investigation and are close to making arrests. We have learnt that the duped money is being withdrawn in Kolkata. Further investigation is on,u201d said inspector Rajesh Gawali of Sangola police.

Solapur cops close to making arrests Thane top cop tells Bajaj Finance Ltdu2019s representative u2018 police are waiting for a duped person to come forwardu2019 Few of the police officers from the team that visited SDCPL. PIC/ RAJESH GUPTA; Mahesh Kamble, one of three victims from Solapur My team submitted a complaint letter to the Wagle Estate police and I met Thaneu2019s Commissioner of Police ( CP) Vivek Phansalkar. He told me they are looking for a complainant duped by the fake call centre. No FIR has been filed so far Babu Rao, Bajaj Finance Ltd - Bajaj Finserv