Mumbai cops nab 42-year-old man from Surat wanted for duping investors

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A 42-year-old man has been nabbed by the Mumbai Police's crime branch from Surat for allegedly duping people on the pretext of offering good returns on their investments, an official told news agency PTI on Saturday.

The arrested accused is identified as Paresh Kumar Patel. His wife is also an accused in the case, the crime branch unit IV official told PTI.

Last year, an FIR was registered at Matunga police station in Mumbai against the Patel couple for allegedly cheating people of Rs 74.70 lakh under the pretext of offering good returns if they invest in a company floated by the accused couple, reported PTI.

The case was subsequently transferred to the crime branch for further probe, the official told PTI.

He said Paresh Kumar Patel was nabbed from a parking area in Surat city based on reliable information. He was produced before a court which remanded him to police custody till October 10, the official told PTI.

Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai police in Maharashtra have arrested a 39-year-old man for sexually harassing two teenage girls, an official told news agency PTI on Saturday.

Accused Sandeep Sonawane is an autorickshaw driver but was driving a friend's taxi when he allegedly committed the crime around 12.15 pm on Friday, an official told PTI.

When the taxi, operating for an app-based service, was on the road leading to Bonkode area, Sonawane allegedly sexually harassed the girls, aged 14 and 15 years, the official told PTI.

Locals rushed to help the girls after hearing their screams and pinned down the accused.

The APMC police have registered a case against Sonawane under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 354 (use of criminal force on a woman with intention to outrage her modesty) and 354A (sexual harassment) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Vivek Pansare, deputy commissioner of police, zone-I, Navi Mumbai told PTI.

In another incident, hours after attacking and killing an 18-year-old girl in broad daylight over a one-sided affair, a man allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a lake in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police told PTI on Saturday.

The body of Prabhakar Waghare (22) was spotted in the lake in the Mokhada area of the district on Saturday morning, Palghar Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil told PTI.

A case of accidental death has been registered and the body was sent for post-mortem, the official told PTI.

Waghare had escaped into a jungle after attacking Archana Udhar, a Class 12 student, who was walking from a junior college with her classmates around 11 am on Friday, the official told PTI.

The accused slit the girl's throat with a sharp weapon and killed her, the official told PTI.

Waghare was jilted after the girl turned down his proposal. His parents also approached the victim's parents and didn't receive a positive response, the official told PTI.

The accused allegedly had plans to kill the girl on her birthday two days ago, the official told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)