Navi Mumbai: Fraudster poses as govt official, defrauds businessman of Rs 2 cr

A 42-year-old businessman from Navi Mumbai was duped into handing over Rs 2 crore to a person posing as a government official, stated police reports on Tuesday, 

The victim, a native of Nerul in Navi Mumbai, was experiencing financial troubles during the COVID-19 pandemic, the PTI reported. 

According to the PTI report, the Nerul police officials stated that he met the accused in January 2021, a resident of Parel in Mumbai who claimed to be a high official in the central government`s Health Ministry.

The imposter offered to arrange a loan for the victim and boasted of contacts to a bank CEO. He proposed using a property as collateral for the loan, the report added.

However, because the victim did not possess any property, the accused suggested involving another individual who was reportedly looking for a loan. It was advised that this person mortgage their property, with the loan amount shared between them.

Enticed by the proposition, the victim gave over Rs 2 crore to the imposter, which he had earned from a contractor in Telangana for the Pune Metro project, the news agency report further stated. 

According to the news report, when the victim wanted to meet with the alleged loan seeker and a bank representative, the fraudster evaded him and eventually vanished. 

Following the victim`s complaint, Nerul police filed a case against the imposter on Sunday under sections of the Indian Penal Code for defrauding and forgery, the PTI report added.

An investigation into the matter is currently underway.

Meanwhile, in another case from Navi Mumbai, a cabbie was arrested for killing his partner and disposing her body near Uran. Prelimnary probe suggested that the deceased girl used to board his share taxi to go to her work and they developed feeling during their regular meetings and got into a relationship. 

Reportedly, the police said Nizamuddin was married and had a child. The official added that the deceased and Nizamuuddin had some disputes over the past few days which led him to kill her. 

Some media reports suggested that the disputes arose after she forced him to marry her; she was unaware about him being married.