A Canada-based woman was duped of Rs 3.5 crore by two men, including a wealth adviser employed with a leading private bank, who lured her to invest the money by promising abundant returns. Bandra Police have arrested both the accused and booked them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and common intention.
According to police, the complainant, a homemaker and resident of Canada, had come to the city last year. She had then visited a private bank for investing the money, when she met one of the accused, Ravu Jagannath, who identified himself as a wealth adviser. During a conversation, Jagannath advised the woman to invest her money for handsome returns in a company known as SK, which was a trusted company, according to him.
Believing Jagannath, the woman agreed to make the investment after meeting him and his associate Chandramohan Mehrotra, who was introduced as the director of SK Company. Lured by the prospect of the promised handsome returns, the Canada-based homemaker invested a total of Rs 3.5 crore over the span of a year, said police. The accused duo also gave her bogus receipts for the investments.
A few days ago, the woman came to India and visited the bank to enquire about her investments, only to learn that the bank offered no such investment scheme. “The complainant showed the bogus receipts to the bank manager, only to be shocked to learn that she had been duped by the duo. The woman then approached Bandra Police and lodged a complaint,” said a police officer.
Rajesh Devare, senior inspector of Bandra police station said, “The primary probe led us to the private bank, where we sought Jagannath’s information and nabbed him after questioning. During his interrogation, he revealed the name of his accomplice, Mehrotra, who too was arrested and booked for the charges.”
Both the accused were booked under relevant sections of the IPC for cheating. They were produced before a local magistrate court and remanded in judicial custody. While a preliminary probe has revealed that Jagannath used the money to settle previous loans, the Bandra police are in the process of recovering the amount and ascertaining if there are any more victims who were similarly conned.
