Investment Scam: Thane doctor, retired police officer duped of Rs 1.44 crore

Thane: A doctor and his friend, a retired police officer, were allegedly cheated in a fake investment scheme and lost Rs 1.44 crore after being promised very high returns from companies that supposedly dealt in share trading.

The fraud took place over the two years during which the accused convinced the doctor and his friend 67-year-old former police officer, a resident of Kalyan in Maharashtra's Thane district, to invest large sums in companies engaged in share trading, promising unusually high returns.

After investing in the companies, the accused initially paid small returns to gain the victims' confidence, but gradually stopped all payouts. When the victims demanded their money back, the accused evaded calls and eventually went incommunicado.

Also read- 74-year-old doctor falls victim to Rs 7.17 crore digital arrest scam

Subsequently, the duo approached the police after repeated attempts to recover their investment failed. Based on their complaint, a detailed probe was initiated on November 21, but no arrest has been made so far, the official told PTI.

The police have registered a case against two persons, residents of Pune in Maharashtra and Goa, under Sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act in connection with the fraud.

Investigators are examining bank transactions, investment documents and communication records to trace the money trail and determine whether more individuals were duped using the same modus operandi.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that a 74-year-old doctor from Ahilyanagar has lost Rs 7.17 crore after being kept under "digital arrest", during which scammers even staged a fake online courtroom to deceive him. The fraud lasted for a week until the doctor was coerced into transferring Rs 7.17 crore in multiple transactions to various bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters.

Also read- 81-year-old doctor duped of Rs 1.3 crore by fake CBI officers