The Kondhwa police have booked four individuals for allegedly duping investors of Rs 1.16 crore on the pretext of providing 2 to 3 percent returns on investments in their car dealing business. The incident occurred from 2020 to the present. Nisar Babulal Shaikh (55, resident of Hadapsar, Pune) filed a complaint at the Kondhwa police station against Rafiq Kalandar Khan (44), Sanobar alias Sauda Rafiq Khan (40), Isa Rafiq Khan (23), and Abdul Rashid alias Miftahi Kalandar Khan (48), all residents of Kondhwa Khurd, Pune. An FIR was registered on July 30 under sections 406, 420, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3 and 4 of the Maharashtra Investment Protection Act.
According to the FIR filed at the Kondhwa police station, the accused Rafiq Kalandar Khan and Hamid Babulal Shaikh, the complainant's brother, were known to each other. Hamid introduced Nisar to Rafiq at a family function in 2020. The accused Rafiq Kalandar Khan and Abdul Rashid alias Miftahi Kalandar Khan informed Nisar that they owned a shop at Konark Indrayu in Kondhwa and ran a premium used car dealership, Saad Motors. They claimed to have contacts with premium car dealers across Maharashtra.
The accused gained the trust of the complainant by stating they earned 30 to 40 percent profit from dealing in used cars and offered 2 to 3 percent profit per month on investments. Rafiq Kalandar Khan showed photos of bills, GST certificates, Shop Act licenses, and other business documents to gain Nisar's trust.
The complaint also stated that the accused informed him about a YouTube channel named Miftahi, where they posted religious content to gain further trust. They regularly contacted the complainant through his brother and invited him and his wife to their shop in Kondhwa to witness their business operations. Convinced, the complainant, along with his brother Hamid Babulal Shaikh, Sameer Razak Shaikh, Jehangir Mehboob Pathan, Azim Raju Bhai Mulani, Sandeep Badhe, Vishal Chavan, Aniket Gaikwad, and Charles D’Cruz, invested approximately Rs 1,16,93,500 at regular intervals, transferring the money into the bank accounts of the accused.
Initially, the accused provided returns on the money invested by the complainant's wife until 2023. However, they did not return any money on the investments made by the complainant and other investors. When the complainant asked for his money, Rafiq Kalandar Khan allegedly gave vague answers and threatened to kill him if he persisted. The Kondhwa police have registered a case, and further investigation is underway.