Cop cheated of 17 lakh on pretext of sale of two flats

A policeman attached to a suburban police station was recently duped to the tune of over 17 lakh on the pretext of promising two flats allotted by the MHADA by three people. The accused trio had promised to draw documents and give possession of the flats in 2019, but kept delaying, only to later learn that the MHADA had never allotted flats in the said building, thereby cheating the cop in a number of transactions. Police said that the cop, who is attached to Kandivali police station, had come across a woman who had booked two flats in Shivshahi Prakalp in Goregaon (E), but was unable to make the full payment due to a financial crisis. Subsequently, the woman had approached a cop, who was also house-hunting at the time in 2019, and shared her ordeal. The policeman agreed to buy the two flats of 225 sqft each and she got in touch with two men, who promised to draw all the paperwork.

The men, whose names were not revealed by the police, had charged over 5.4 lakh from the policeman, besides 12 lakh for the flats. The cop had wired the money in a number of transactions, but never got any receipt from the accused. When the accused people stopped entertaining his calls, the cop enquired with the MHADA office about the status of his flat, only to learn that the flats were never allotted by the MHADA to the Shivshahi Prakalp.

Having realised that he has been duped, the policeman approached Saki Naka Police and lodged a complaint against the accused trio, who were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and criminal conspiracy. Police said that no arrests have been made as of now and the investigation is underway.