Pune businessman cheated of Rs 50 lakh by husband-wife duo

Pune, Jun 18 (PTI) A 49-year-old businessman from Pune has been defrauded of Rs 50 lakh by a husband-wife duo who posed as officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, the accused, Kashmira Pawar (29) and her husband Ganesh Gaikwad, residents of Satara in western Maharashtra, cheated the businessman on the pretext of getting a government contract.

Based on the businessman's complaint, the couple has been booked under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention).

The couple and the complainant, who takes construction contracts, came in contact through some mutual acquaintance.

"Pawar posed herself as an advisor working in the PMO and promised the complainant a government contract and took Rs 50 lakh from him through RTGS (online mode)," said an officer from the Bundgarden police station where a case has been registered.

The entire cheating episode took place between December 2019 and March 2022, he said.

After realising that he had been duped, the businessman approached the police.

"We have registered a case, but the accused were yet to be arrested," said the officer. PTI SPK RSY