Identity Theft & Land Scams Rock Pune District: Residents Warned Amid Growing Financial Frauds In Pimpri-Chinchwad

Pimpri-Chinchwad: Two separate fraud cases involving substantial financial losses have recently come to light in the Pimpri-Chinchwad city. This has highlighted the increasing misuse of trust and personal documents in the developing city.

In the first case, a 31-year-old resident of Dattawadi, Akurdi, reported that his Aadhaar and PAN card were misused to commit fraud, leading to unauthorised loans totalling Rs 4,02,462. The incident occurred between 24th May 2019 and 31st December 2020.

According to the Nigdi Police, an unidentified suspect prepared forged documents using the complainant’s personal information and obtained loans from six financial institutions. This included Dhani Loans, Tata Capital, and ICICI Bank. The loans were used for the suspect’s personal gain. A case has been registered at Nigdi Police Station, and further investigation is underway.

In a second case, Devidas Gyanoba Bangar (65), a resident of Warje, Pune, was defrauded of Rs 69 lakh in a land development scam in Bhukum village of Mulshi Tehsil. The incident, which started on 14th August 2019, involved the accused Rahul Tukaram Mazhire, Tukaram Dagdu Mazhire (residents of Bhukum), Mayur Sarjerao Lohakare (resident of Raigad District), Umesh Ramesh Jori, and two women luring the complainant with a promise to provide 15,069 square feet of land in Group No. 73 for development.

The accused collected Rs 62 lakh initially and an additional Rs 7 lakh to finalise the transaction but failed to provide the land, instead misappropriating the funds. The Bavdhan Police are investigating the matter further.