Thane residents duped in fraudulent investment scheme, Rs 1.44 crore lost

The police have registered a case against two individuals residents of Pune and Goa in connection with the scam which reportedly occurred over the past two years reported news agency PTIThe accused convinced the 67yearold former police officer a resident of Kalyan in Maharashtras Thane district and his friend who is a doctor to invest large sums in companies engaged in share trading promising unusually high returnsThe accused initially paid small returns to gain the victims confidence but gradually stopped all payouts When the victims demanded their money back the accused evaded calls and eventually went incommunicado an official from Khadakpada police station said reported PTIThe victims approached the police after repeated attempts to recover their investment failed Based on their complaint a detailed probe was initiated on November 21 but no arrest has been made so far the official confirmedInvestigators were examining bank transactions investment documents and communication records to trace the money trail and determine whether more individuals were duped using the same modus operandi as per PTIThe police have registered a case against the two accused under Sections 420 cheating and 34 common intention of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors MPID Act the official saidAnganwadi job scam wipes out homemakerrsquos Rs 677 lakhA 26yearold Ghatkopar homemaker lost Rs 677 lakh in a Telegram task scam after responding to a social media ad for workfromhome Anganwadi jobs The victim was forced to borrow heavily and pawn her and her mothers jewellery to meet the fraudsters demandsThe scam began on November 12 when she clicked a link moving from WhatsApp to a Telegram channel An alleged HR executive from an ldquoNSI corporate officerdquo made contact initially assigning small rating tasks and showing fake profit screenshots Rs180 Rs 200 to build trustOver the next four days fraudsters using names like Gatali Kaul Harit Kumar and Gurwinder Kaur continuously assigned increasingly expensive payment tasks promising high commissions When her deposits increased a purported finance department claimed profits would only be released after more transfersBy November 15 with her task account allegedly locked the victim pawned gold and transferred multiple amounts ranging from Rs 800 to Rs 50000 She later realised she received only Rs 27670 in profit while over Rs 67 lakh was stolenAn official stated that during verification the funds were found to be routed through 15 mule bank accounts across Manipur Karnataka Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan Maharashtra and Telangana pointing to a wide organised network operating via WhatsApp and Telegram channels The case has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and of the IT Act Police are tracing the account handlersWith PTI inputs