30:30 Scam widens, fraud exceeds Rs 4.23 crore

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

The scope of the 30:30 scam, which had been causing a stir in rural areas, is now widening. Just a day after two individuals lodged a complaint of fraud amounting to Rs 1.95 crore, five more people reported that they had been defrauded of over Rs 2.28 crore. The Economic Offences Wing(EOW) of the Police Commissionerate has begun an investigation into the matter. Senior PI Sambhaji Pawar confirmed that the team had conducted searches at the homes of the arrested suspects.

Santosh alias Sachin Namdev Rathod, the mastermind behind the scam, lured many with promises of high returns, defrauding them of crores of rupees. After being arrested in the Bidkin Police Station case, Santosh spent a year in jail. Upon his release, he promised to return the money, but a year has passed without repayment, prompting more citizens to file complaints. A complaint was lodged at Osmanpura Police Station by the victims, Pramod Rathod and his cousin Rajendra Jadhav, who were defrauded of over Rs 1.95 crore. The police have arrested two agents involved in the scam, though the main accused remains at large. Meanwhile, Inspector Pawar has urged other victims to come forward. As a result, five victims Kalyan Chavan, Raju Rathod, Sheshrao Rathod, Avinash Rathade and Jaysingh Aade reported a total fraud of over Rs 2.28 crore. This brings the total value of the scam to over Rs 4.23 crore. The Economic Offence Wing has begun tracking the assets of the accused. The suspects will be charged under the MPID Act, and preparations are underway. In this context, searches were conducted at the homes of the arrested suspects, and investigations are ongoing to trace the assets of the fugitive accused.