Crime news: Police book CEOs of a company for duping farmers in Maharashtra's Palghar

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Police in Maharashtra's Palghar district has booked the management of a company for allegedly duping four farmers of Rs 21.6 lakh.

Based on a complaint, an offence was registered on Friday against the CEOs of a company, Deepak Energy Conservation, under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, newswire PTI reported quoting an official.

The accused had allegedly lured the complainants to invest in various schemes of the company by promising them good returns, he said. The farmers from Talasari taluka allegedly lost Rs. 21.66 lakh between January 2018 and March 2019, the official said.

While no arrests have been made so far, the police are probing the financial transactions of the company, he said.

Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai police have registered a case against six persons for allegedly duping a senior citizen of nearly Rs 31 lakh after luring him with "investment schemes" offering high returns, an official said on Sunday.

Also read: Crime News: Navi Mumbai police book six persons for duping senior citizen of Rs 31 lakh

The 66-year-old complainant, who lives in Koparkhairane, told the police that the alleged fraudsters first contacted him in November 2023, the official said.

Since then, they regularly communicated with him and enticed him to invest Rs 31.1 lakh in various "schemes" claiming that he would get handsome returns, the official said, citing the complaint.

The retired man approached the Cyber police station after he did not receive any money in return despite follow-ups, he said.

The police registered a cheating case against the six on Friday, and a probe is underway, the official added.

In other crime news, Mumbai police raided an illegal call centre in the western suburb of Andheri here and arrested 10 people for allegedly duping US nationals on the pretext of selling them medicines, an official said on Sunday.

The crime branch raided the premises at Summit Business Bay in Andheri on Saturday and apprehended the accused, who have been booked under section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, he said.

The fraudsters allegedly targeted US nationals through VoIP calling and posed as representatives of online pharmaceutical companies, the official said.

The accused took orders for medicines from the victims, who paid them in US dollars, and then did not deliver the medicines, he said.

The crime branch seized electronic equipment during the raid, the official said, adding that further probe is underway to find out the extent of the fraud. (With inputs from PTI)