Retired police officer duped in flat purchase deal

Mumbai, Oct 1 (PTI) An FIR has been registered against four persons here for allegedly cheating a retired officer of Mumbai Police of Rs 9.5 lakh under the guise of selling him a flat.

According to complainant Vijay Deshmukh (60), he decided to buy a house with the money he received at the time of his retirement from the police department in October 2022.

In 2023, he came in contact with one Pravin Roge, who introduced himself as a railway employee, and claimed to work as a property dealer, along with Santosh Chavan and Dipesh Pandirkar.

The trio told him about a flat belonging to their close friend Abhishek Salunkhe. After negotiations, the deal was finalised at Rs 43 lakh.

Deshmukh allegedly paid Rs 17.5 lakh in advance to Roge and his associates, with the assurance that the flat's possession would be handed over by December 2023. He was shown photocopies of documents but never received the original papers, he claimed in the complaint.

When the accused started avoiding his calls, Deshmukh became suspicious and independently verified the flat's ownership. To his shock, he discovered that the flat belonged another person, a former textile mill worker.

When he demanded his money back, the accused returned him only Rs 8 lakh, following which Deshmukh filed a complaint with Kalachowki Police who registered a case of cheating and breach of trust against all four accused.

No arrests have been made so far and further investigation is underway, the official said. PTI ZA KRK