Maharashtra: Group storms into office, sets furniture ablaze in Uran; case filed

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Police on Wednesday registered an offence against a group of persons for allegedly storming into a private consultant's office located at Uran in Maharashtra's Raigad district and setting furniture and other things on fire in a bid to scare people holding a meeting there, an official told news agency PTI.

The incident occurred around 7.30 pm on Tuesday, the official told PTI.

A complaint had been filed saying that several persons were allegedly duped by a duo through their investment scheme. Based on the complaint, the police had registered a case against agents with one Hitesh Gavand named as the main accused, the police official told PTI.

"A meeting of a few persons, who fell prey to the investment scam, was in progress at the consultant's office on Tuesday to decide the further course of action like holding agitation and forming a committee comprising people from Uran and Panvel," the official of Uran police station under the jurisdiction of Navi Mumbai police commissionerate told PTI.

"When the meeting was on at the office and the victims were discussing the matter, some unidentified persons stormed into it and set the furniture, including sofa and chairs, on fire. They also threw a chit in which they warned those attending the meeting, before escaping from the spot," the official told PTI.

Nobody was injured in the incident, he said.

An offence was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) and 506 (criminal intimidation) against Gavand and an unspecified number of persons based on the complaint by the consultant, the police told PTI.

Meanwhile, a gang which allegedly sold babies to needy couples has been busted here with the arrest of five persons from Mumbai and one from Nashik, police told PTI.

Last month, the gang allegedly kidnapped a two-year-old girl from Malad in Mumbai, took her to Malwani and later Nashik where they wanted to sell her for Rs 2 lakh, an official from Kurar police station told PTI on Tuesday.

As the deal fell through, they returned to Mumbai and left the girl at Dadar railway station, the official told PTI.

While police reunited the girl with her family, that lived under a bridge, nine teams were formed to nab the accused, the official told PTI.

The arrested accused have been identified as Irfan Khan (26), Salauddin Sayyed (23), Adil Khan (19), Taukeer Sayyed (26), Raza Sheikh, all nabbed from Mumbai, and Samadhan Jagtap, arrested from Nashik, reported PTI.

They have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 363 (kidnapping), 370 (trafficking of person) and 34 (common intention) and further investigation is underway, the official told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)