Family members — including bank employee, Merchant Navy staffer and dentist — each played specific role in scam; they would promise to help victims find low-cost homes and flee with money
A 45-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly cheating a housewife by promising to help her buy a state-built, low-cost home. The cops have also launched a manhunt for three family members of the accused, who played a vital role in conning the victim.
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Jaymala Kumbhare (left), who has been arrested, and her daughter, Durga, whom the police are trying to locate
All members of the family are highly qualified and played different roles when the crime unfolded. The arrested woman, Jaymala Kumbhare’s husband Satish works in a nationalised bank, son Tapan works in the Merchant Navy and daughter Durga is a dentist.
According to Charkop police station sources, while Jaymala selected the target, most of the time, her husband Satish would impersonate a MHADA officer and issue allotment letters to dupe people. Their son Tapan handled monetary transactions and daughter Durga played a mediator’s role.
In this case, which played out in January 2012, 34-year-old Clera Saji George — who had been searching for a flat in Charkop for many years — got in touch with this family through a mutual friend, Anita Raja. Anita informed Clera about the family and told her that they could help her to find a cheap flat as per her requirement.
Victim Clera contacted Jaymala and told her to manage a cheap flat in Charkop. Jaymala showed her a flat (no 1701) in MHADA Charkop, new MHADA Tower building 55E, on the 17th floor. The victim became ready to buy this flat, but due to shortage of money, she told Jaymala that she could not pay Rs 27 lakh at one time.
From 2013 to 2014, Clera paid Jaymala Rs 15 lakh in cash and cheque. The accused family gave Clera an allotment letter for the flat that was promised. In 2014, Clera was shocked after she found that some other family was residing in the flat for which she had already paid Rs 15 lakh. Later, when she tried to approach Jaymala, she had disappeared.
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The victim then filed a complaint with the Charkop police against all members of the Kumbhare family. According to Assistant Police Inspector Pradip Raorane of the Charkop police, Jaymala was arrested from Kandivli. All the family members were involved in the con job.
A case has also been registered against the family in Amboli police station and by the Economic Offences Wing, for similar crimes. On November 7, the Charkop police registered a case against all the family members under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 406, 120 (B) and 34 of the IPC. Jaymala has been arrested and is in judicial custody while the police are on the lookout for the other family members, Raorane added.