Financial frauds on the rise: Losses of almost ₹2 crore in Thane, ₹40 lakh in J&K, ₹35 lakh in Gurugram

Police in three different parts of India reported cases of fraud and corruption on Saturday. In Thane, law enforcement slapped a Mumbai man in a case for allegedly cheating an IT professional of ₹1.96 crore and attempting to murder them by poisoning them.

In another disconnected incident, the Jammu and Kashmir Anti-Corruption Bureau filed a chargesheet against 22 persons for allegedly fraudulently withdrawing payments after tampering with revenue records in Budgam district. In Gurugram, an IndusInd Bank employee was apprehended by police for allegedly defrauding an investor of ₹35 lakh fraud, according to the authorities.

The alleged perpetrator of the Thane crime befriended the 43-year-old victim and convinced him to invest in land at Chiplun, Ratnagiri. The accused reportedly took 92.7 lakh from the victim and emotionally manipulated, blackmailed, and threatened him to hand over property documents, according to officials, along with gold coins worth ₹1.03 crore.

The complaint cited that the accused forced the victim to prepare a will in his name, and made him consume liquor laced with a “suspicious white powder”. According to reports, forensic analysis said that tricyclic antidepressants and barbiturates—potent sedatives and toxins—were given to the victim in high doses.

An FIR was registered against the Sion-resident accused, under sections 109 (attempt to murder), 123 (causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit an offence, 318(4) (cheating), and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, according to police.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) accused 22 including two collectors of the Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA), four retired public servants and 16 beneficiaries, as per the chargesheet. The anti-graft body filed a case after a joint surprise check (JSC) into allegations of abuse of official positions of the Rukhs and Farms department in Kashmir.

According to the authorities, some Revenue and Agriculture department officers “conspired” with certain beneficiaries to “fraudulently inflate land records”. This led to them claiming excess compensation, leading to losses worth ₹38.20 lakh. The ACB slapped a case under the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act Svt. 2006.

Closer to Delhi, Gurugram police said they arrested an employee of the IndusInd Bank in connection with ₹35 lakh investment fraud.

The arrest, according to police, was based on a complaint by the victim who alleged the Faridabad resident duped him of ₹35.69 lakh using fraudulent investments in the share market. The accused allegedly opened a bank account in a fake company name and transferred ₹1.21 lakh from the proceeds of the fraud to it, further investigation revealed.

Financial cyber crimes have also been on the rise recently. On Saturday, 13 persons were arrested from Ghorpara forest in Jharkhand’s Deoghar district for allegedly deceiving people and siphoning off money from their accounts by posing as bank officials and customer care representatives, according to police. Thirteen mobile phones and several SIM cards were also recovered from the possession of the accused, according to Deoghar district police.

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