Mumbai: Conman arrested for the third time in same case

Raju Pothraj had promised to provide land for the NGO to set up operations

The Malvani police have once again arrested Raju Pothraj, 48, accused of defrauding a social worker of Rs 20 lakh by falsely claiming to provide a plot and then a room for the office of a social organisation working for acid attack victims. This is the third time Pothraj has been arrested in this case.

Pothraj was initially arrested last year under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. According to police sources, Pothraj secured bail but the NGO challenged it in court. The court then cancelled his bail and sent him to jail. After spending two months in jail, he was granted bail again upon depositing a Rs 5 lakh demand draft to the court and providing two cheques of R5 lakh each to the complainant. However, the cheques bounced, leading the NGO to inform the court once again. The court cancelled then cancelled his bail again and issued a warrant for his arrest. Pothraj had been absconding until May 25 when he was arrested again and sent to jail.

The NGO, ‘Acid Survivors Saahas Foundation', works for acid attack victims and currently supports more than 500 victims across the country. The founder, Daulatbi Mohammad Hussain Khan, a social worker and acid attack survivor, stated that she owned a room in Malad which was rented out to a private party. She wanted to buy a place in the Madh area for the NGO and was introduced to Pothraj. He initially offered Khan a 500 sq ft room near Vanilla Lake in Malwani for R24 lakh, but since the property was under litigation, she passed on the offer. Pothraj then showed her a 1,003 sq ft plot at Marve Road (Survey No. 32, Plot No. 1), quoting a price of R40 lakh. Khan decided to buy the property for the NGO using Rs 20 lakh collected from donations, with the rest to be paid upon registration.

During the registration process, it was revealed that the property belonged to someone else. Khan demanded that the money be returned, but Pothraj didn't comply. She then filed a police complaint against him in April 2022, leading to the registration of a case of cheating and embezzlement against Pothraj.

"I was looking for a shelter for acid victims and decided to purchase this land, but during registration, it was revealed that the land belonged to someone else. This happened twice. Neither was he giving us the land nor returning our money, so we filed the case. Pothraj is a liar and a cheat. He misled the court twice, leading to the cancellation of his bail and the issuance of a warrant," Khan said, adding that she had collected the money given to Pothraj using various fundraising platforms and with the help of celebrities.