Police have registered a case against the chairman and staff of a co-operative credit society for allegedly cheating a group of farmers of Rs 14.59 lakh by promising them a loan for a joint land purchase in Navi Mumbai, officials said on Tuesday, reported news agency PTI.

A group of 14 farmers had jointly purchased a plot of land at Nevali in Navi Mumbai for Rs 3.46 crore. To complete the payment for the land, they had approached the cooperative credit society for a loan.

The credit society chairman assured the farmers of a Rs 6 crore loan (for payment and plot development). But, he allegedly demanded Rs 24 lakh as processing fees and other charges and collected Rs 23 lakh from the farmers, an official from the CBD police station said, reported PTI.

The farmers` representative was shown screenshots of loan approval letters, demand drafts and related documents, but the promised loan was not disbursed, he said.

In the meantime, other staff members of the credit society also demanded money on various pretexts and allegedly took Rs 4.09 lakh from them, the official said, reported PTI.

On being confronted, the credit society chairman returned Rs 12.5 lakh but failed to refund the remaining amount, he said, adding the alleged fraud took place between August and October 2024, reported PTI.

The farmers` representative lodged a police complaint, based on which a case was registered on Sunday against the credit society chairman and three other staffers on charges of cheating, the official said, reported PTI.

“No arrests have been made so far. A probe into the alleged financial fraud is in progress,” the official added.

Mother-son duo booked for cheating contractor of Rs 6 lakh in land deal

In another incident, a case has been registered against a woman and her son for allegedly cheating a contractor of Rs 6 lakh in a land deal in Maharashtra`s Thane district, police said on Monday, reported PTI.

According to the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police, the accused, Meena Narendra Mhatre and her son Manish, allegedly approached the complainant, offering to sell him a portion of their ancestral land in July 2018, reported PTI.

The duo took Rs 6 lakh from him in cash and cheques over a period of seven years, assuring him of executing a sale deed for a plot worth Rs 7 lakh in Bhayandar, an official said, reported PTI.

However, investigations later revealed that the accused had already transferred the plot through a relinquishment deed to a relative, police said.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the duo under sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and a probe is underway, they said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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