Banker, his family booked for duping cop of `1.17 crore

The Nerul police have registered a case against a banker, his wife, and two daughters for allegedly cheating a police constable of Rs1.17 crore.

The constable, Sundarsingh Thakur, became so stressed that on February 13, he left home and went missing for five days. His phone was unreachable all day. His wife learned from Uran police station, where he worked, that he hadn’t shown up for eight days. He left a letter at home explaining the mental strain from being cheated by a banker ac- quaintance, expressing intent to abandon his family and end his life. His wife reported him missing to the Kalamboli police.

The banker, Ramakant Parida, first met Thakur around four years ago when Thakur was posted with the Vashi traffic police.

“We used to meet often as he worked at the Vashi branch of the bank, and became family friends, visiting each other’s homes on various occasions. He told me that he could provide bank-auctioned houses at rates lower than market rates,” Thakur recalled. Later, Thakur’s colleague, Daulatrao Mane, also became Parida’s friend.

In 2021, Parida sought financial help from Thakur and Mane, claiming job-related issues. Thakur mortgaged his wife’s 15 tola gold to help Parida. Later, Parida proposed buying land in Khalapur at a discounted rate, suggesting Thakur and Mane invest with him. Thakur took loans based on this arrangement.

“Parida promised us joint ownership. I took Rs70 lakh loan from a private financier, Rs15 lakh as a mortgage loan, and Rs3 lakh from a private society,” Thakur said. Until December 2023, Parida paid the interest on these loans. However, in 2023, Parida stopped paying the EMIs on the Rs70 lakh and Rs15 lakh.

“With my salary, I can only manage to pay the EMI of the mortgage loan,” Thakur added. Parida bought the land but excluded Thakur and Mane from the ownership title, leading them to realise they had been deceived. In total, Parida cheated them out of around Rs2 crore.

“We will issue notices to all the accused soon for investigation. The wife and daughters are also implicated in the case as their bank accounts were used for transferring the funds,” said senior police inspector Tanaji Bhagat.