Hotelier duped of Rs 13 lakh in Thane over fake liquor permit promise

A 48-year-old hotelier from Thane has allegedly been defrauded of Rs 13 lakh by a man posing as an excise department official, who falsely promised to secure a liquor sale license for his establishment, police said on Sunday.

According to PTI reports, the accused approached the victim, who runs a hotel in the Kalwa area of Thane, in January last year. Claiming to be an employee of the Maharashtra state excise department in Nashik, he assured the hotelier that he could procure the necessary permit for him in exchange for a fee. Believing the offer to be genuine, the hotelier paid the accused Rs 13 lakh over multiple transactions.

However, despite repeated assurances, the victim never received the promised liquor permit. As months passed and the accused failed to deliver on his commitment, the hotelier grew suspicious. Upon confronting the alleged fraudster and demanding a refund, he received evasive responses. Realising that he had been deceived, he approached the Kalwa police station and lodged a complaint.

In a similar incident of deception earlier this year, a 75-year-old man in Dombivli was allegedly duped of Rs 30,000 by an unidentified individual who made away with the cash in a public area, according to PTI reports.

The incident took place in Maharashtra`s Thane district, an official stated. As per police sources, the elderly victim had withdrawn Rs 30,000 from a local bank and was on his way home when the accused approached him.

According to the police, the fraudster told the elderly man that his shirt had gotten dirty and advised him to clean it. Unaware of the scam, the senior citizen proceeded to remove his shirt, placing his bag beside him. Taking advantage of the distraction, the accused quickly grabbed the bag and fled with the money.

A case has been registered under section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Law enforcement officials are currently reviewing CCTV footage from the area to identify and apprehend the suspect.

In an another shocking case of fraud, police in Maharashtra’s Palghar district have arrested a man who allegedly posed as a Delhi Crime Branch officer and defrauded several women under the pretext of marriage, PTI reports.

The accused, identified as 26-year-old Himanshu Yogeshbahi Panchal, was arrested on Tuesday from his hometown in Ahmedabad following an extensive investigation led by Valiv police.

According to the authorities, Panchal befriended women through a matrimonial website, pretending to be an officer from the cyber security cell of Delhi Police’s crime branch. He allegedly built trust, promised marriage, and then proceeded to exploit the victims financially and emotionally.

One of the victims, who filed the complaint leading to his arrest, alleged that Panchal took her to various hotels and lodges where he sexually assaulted her multiple times under false promises of marriage. Adding to his deception, he even gifted her a fake diamond.

(With inputs from PTI)