Thane crime: Couple duped of Rs 80 lakh on promise of getting payments bank's franchisees; 3 booked

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Police have registered a case against three persons for allegedly duping a couple in Maharashtra's Thane district of Rs 80 lakh by promising to get authorisation to open franchisees of a payments bank, officials said on Saturday, reported PTI.

The incident occurred between August 2022 and April 2023, and an FIR in this connection was registered on Thursday, the officials said while sharing an update on the Thane crime, reported PTI.

The accused have been identified as Kalpit Ashokbhai Soni (46), Kunjalsingh Vikramsing Solanki (33), both from Gujarat, and Surendrakumar Kishorelal Sharma (40) from Rajasthan, the police said, reported PTI.

"The accused trio contacted a 46-year-old businesswoman, who along with her husband was assured that they would be granted authorisation to open franchisees of a payments bank," an official of Kasarvadavli police station said while sharing an update on the Thane crime, reported PTI.

"Between August 2022 and April 2023, the accused offered the businesswoman and her husband franchise opportunities in Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat. They promised that they would secure them the gold loan franchisee/master franchisee and cash management schemes. The couple believed them and transferred Rs 80 lakh to the accused in instalments to their bank accounts," he said.

But despite paying money to them, the victims neither got their money back nor received the authorisation for franchisees of a payments bank. After the couple realised that they had been duped, they lodged a complaint, the official said.

The accused trio was booked on the charges of criminal breach of trust, forgery, criminal breach of trust, cheating, criminal conspiracy and common intention.

Nine persons booked for cheating job aspirants of Rs 74.4 lakh; link to rail officials being probed

Nine persons, including four members of a family, were booked in Kalyan in Thane district for allegedly cheating job aspirants of Rs 74.40 lakh, a police official said on Friday.

The other five accused are believed to be railway personnel, among them a medical officer, the MFC police station official said.

Senior Inspector Dyaneshwar Sable identified one of the accused as Kalyan resident Anant Ballal, who promised the complainant a railway job.

"As per the complainant, Ballal, along with his wife and two children, took money from him between January and May this year but the promised job never materialised. Ballal also got the complainant to meet several persons, who the former claimed were railway officials helping to expedite the process," the official said.

"He even provided the complainant with a fake appointment letter and showed him fabricated emails. We believe the accused has taken Rs 74.4 lakh from the complainant and other job seekers in Roha in Raigad and other places. We are probing if those the complainant met are indeed railway officials or imposters," the official said.

A case of cheating, forgery and other offences has been registered but no arrest has been made, Sable informed.

(With inputs from PTI)