Four individuals have been arrested for allegedly embezzling Rs 74.5 lakh meant as compensation for ten tribal landowners whose property was acquired for the Mumbai-Vadodara Highway project in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police officials confirmed on Friday.
According to PTI, a case of cheating has been registered at the Badlapur Kulgaon police station against seven individuals. While four accused have been taken into custody, a search operation is underway to apprehend the remaining three, senior inspector Govind Patil stated.
The fraudulent activity came to light after Jijabai Divekar, a resident of Ambernath taluka, filed a complaint on January 24, alleging that the compensation amount, which was legally due to the rightful heirs, had been misappropriated.
As per PTI reports, Divekar’s agricultural land was acquired for the highway project, following which a compensation amount of Rs 5.7 crore was deposited in her bank account. In compliance with legal protocols, a portion of this amount was then transferred to the accounts of ten other rightful heirs.
However, one of the accused, known to Divekar, allegedly deceived the landowners by obtaining their thumbprints on bank receipts under the pretext of assisting them in withdrawing the money. This fraudulent act took place in February 2021. Instead of handing over the rightful sums, the accused provided each individual with only Rs 1 lakh while siphoning off Rs 9 lakh into a separate account, PTI reports.
According to the complaint, this pattern of fraudulent transactions continued over time, ultimately leading to the diversion of Rs 74.5 lakh into unauthorised accounts. Police officials have launched a detailed investigation into the matter to trace the remaining accused and recover the misappropriated funds.
Maha: Lawyer, his brother booked for holding 2 tribal men captive for months over land compensation in Thane
Police have registered a case against a lawyer and his brother at Shahapur in Thane district for allegedly kidnapping and holding two tribal men captive for two months, asking them to pay a portion of the land compensation money to them, an official said on Saturday.
The case has been registered against the accused, identified as Vitthal Desle, an advocate, and his brother Dhanaji Desle of Khanivare village in Murbad tehsil, by Thane district rural police.
The accused are on the run, he said.
The two tribal men, who are siblings from Poklyachi Wadi in Shahapur, have lodged a complaint against the accused duo.
As per the complaint, the land owned by the victims have been acquired by the government for a dam project. The advocate and his brother approached the tribal siblings with a promise that they would help them get suitable compensation for their land. On July 21, they took the villagers to their house on the pretext of discussing the matter. However, they held them captive till September 23, police said.
The accused sought 60 per cent of the compensation amount that the tribal brothers were to receive. They threatened the victims that if they tried to approach the police, they would be killed, the complaint said.
On September 23, the accused brought the victims to the registrar`s office and asked them to sign certain documents, which the latter refused to do. At that time, the family members of the victims rescued the duo. Six days later, they lodged the complaint, police said.
The accused have been booked under IPC sections 356 ( (kidnapping or abduction with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation), and also sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at Kinhavali police station.
(With inputs from PTI)
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