Mumbai: Two held for duping bank staffer of Rs 35.25 lakh

Two individuals, purportedly impersonating IPS officers, have been apprehended by the Mumbai police. They are accused of deceiving an employee of a nationalized bank and his friend, extracting Rs 35.25 lakh from them under the false pretense of securing a favorable job posting.

The crime branch’s property cell on Sunday arrested the accused Ganesh Shivaji Chavan (33) and Manoj Kupinder Pawar (43) from suburban Chembur and Vashi in Navi Mumbai respectively, the official said. As per the police report, the individual who filed the complaint encountered the accused through a mutual friend. The pair, pretending to be IPS officers, asserted that they had influential connections within various Central government departments.

The accused demanded Rs 1 crore from the complainant and his friend for providing a favourable posting with the bank and accepted Rs 35.25 lakh through cash and bank transactions over the last four years, the official said. The accused also provided a fake appointment letter, which they claimed was issued by the Union finance minister, he said, adding that when the complainant started demanding the money back, the duo threatened him.

The police suspect that the accused may have similarly duped other people and are probing their antecedents, the official said.