3 booked for cheating bizman of `23 lakh

The Kharghar police have booked three people for allegedly cheating a businessman of Rs23 lakh.

The accused also ran away with the car of the complainant after winning his confidence, the police said.

According to the police, the accused met the businessman, Ganesh Sutar, 29, a few months ago and they developed a good relationship with him. Later, they gave him the proposal of securing a licence of selling imported goods in the city.

“The complainant took them for genuine people and gave them the money. He believed them and did not even hesitate to lend his car for a few hours,” said a police officer from Kharghar police station.

“The accused, however, did not return his car even after a few days. When he could not contact them after repeated attempts, he realised that he had been cheated. He then came to us and registered a first information report,” he said.

The police are searching for the suspects but they have not been able to make any breakthrough in this case so far.

“A case under sections 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the suspects. We are investigating the matter and hope to solve the case very soon,” another police officer said.

“Serious offences in Navi Mumbai have gone down, but cases such as cheating and criminal breach of trust have gone up. In most cases, the victims come to the police only after paying a huge amount to the culprits. If the culprits are from other states, such cases become difficult to detect,” a senior crime branch official said.