Retired banker cheated of Rs 4 cr by nephew claiming to be defence intelligence officer

Pune, Sep 22 (PTI) A 53-year-old retired bank officer was allegedly defrauded of Rs 4 crore by his nephew who posed as an intelligence officer, the chain of events leaving the victim and his wife homeless, a Pune police official said on Monday.

Shubham Prabhale convinced his uncle Suryakant Thorat to give money on the pretext of getting Rs 38 crore released from a bank account that he claimed to have received as reward for his work in the defence intelligence department, the official said.

"Shubham is my wife's cousin's son. In 2019, he approached me claiming he worked in the intelligence department. He sought Rs 5 lakh saying he needed to pay some fees to claim Rs 38 crore he had received as reward money from the department," Thorat said.

In his FIR, Thorat alleged his nephew even made him talk to someone he claimed was Union Minister Amit Shah and other senior officials to make him believe that the Rs 38 crore reward was genuine.

"Shubham kept demanding money thereafter saying it was required to clear his file regarding the reward. Between January 2020 and September 2024, I transferred over Rs 4 crore into different accounts belonging to Shubham and also made payments in cash to his father Sunil and brother Omkar," Thorat claimed.

Thorat said he sold his properties, including a land parcel in Mulshi, a shop, two flats, a car and gold ornaments worth Rs 76 lakh and also borrowed over Rs 1 crore from relatives and friends to give money to Shubham and his family members.

Thorat, in his complaint, claimed Shubham, when asked to return the money, told him he was on an important mission abroad.

"He told me he would make me speak to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He then arranged a conference call where I spoke to someone claiming to be Amit Shah, who assured me that the reward-related work would be completed soon and asked me not to worry," Thorat stated in his complaint.

After Shubham started avoiding him thereafter, Thorat said he approached police.

A case was registered on September 15 against Shubham Prabhale, his father Sunil Prabhale, mother Bhagyashree Prabhale, brother Omkar Prabhale and Prashant Rajendra Prabhale under sections 318(4) (cheating), 204 (personating a public servant) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Parvati police station official said.

Speaking to PTI, Thorat claimed he is now homeless, without financial support and is living in a temple in the city, adding that police and the government must give him justice. PTI SPK BNM