Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The 30:30 scam, which has caused a stir across the state, has now reached the city as well. It has come to light that the main accused along with three others defrauded two individuals in the city of Rs 1.95 crore. A case has been registered against the four individuals at the Osmanpura police station, and the EOW has arrested two of the four accused.
The names of the accused include the mastermind Santosh alias Sachin Namdeo Rathod (PWD Colony, Beed Bypass), agent Rajendra alias Pankaj Prahlad Jadhav (Link Road, Golwadi), Suhas Pandit Chavan (Banjara Colony), and Amol Krishna Chavan (Naiknagar, Beed Bypass).
According to the complaint filed by Pramod Pandit Jadhav (of Banjara Colony) at the Osmanpura police station, agent Pankaj Jadhav, who is his maternal father-in-law, brought the mastermind Santosh Rathod to meet him in November 2020. They provided information about the 30:30 scheme and promised a 15% monthly return on the investment made in the scheme. A brochure with details was also provided to him. Besides, they shared the names of several people who had already invested in the scheme. Believing this information, the complainant transferred a sum of Rs 50 lakh via RTGS into the bank accounts of the accused Santosh Rathod and Pankaj Jadhav for investment. Initially, a 15% return was provided on some amounts, but later, the accused started avoiding the complainant, stated the complaint. Meanwhile, the EOW has arrested two accused, Pankaj and Suhas, for further investigation.
The complainant's cousin Rajendra Jadhav was also defrauded of Rs 1.45 crore by Santosh and Suhas. They pressured the cousin to invest in the 30:30 scheme and provided an investment agreement. As a result, he transferred Rs 95 lakh into Suhas Chavan's bank account and Rs 50 lakh into Santosh Rathod's bank account, totaling Rs 1.45 crore. However, no returns were received on this investment. Instead, the complainant states that they were defrauded.
Fake RBI order
The complainant, along with his cousin, demanded the return of their invested money along with the promised returns from the accused. In response, the accused claimed that they would receive Rs 300 to 350 crore from the Reserve Bank and sent a copy of a "Releasing Order" from the Reserve Bank to gain trust. The order listed the names of a total of 28 people. However, upon realising that the order was fake, the complainant immediately approached the police.
A case of fraud in the 30:30 scam was filed at the Bidkin police station against the main accused, Santosh Rathod, and others. Santosh was in prison for a year, but due to the reversal of the witness's testimony, he was granted bail.
City police appeals
Senior Police Inspector Sambhaji Pawar has urged the defrauded investors to contact the EOW of the city police. Meanwhile, the two accused arrested by police have been remanded to police custody until December 2.