Maharashtra: Key accused in case of cheating home buyers arrested in Palghar

Palghar Police in Maharashtra have arrested the main accused in a case of cheating people by promising them flats at cheaper rates in Palghar district an official said on Wednesday reported the PTIAccording to the PTI four of the other gang members were arrested earlier in connection with the caseDuring the interrogation of the main accused nabbed on January 27 it came to light and he and the other gang members allegedly duped several home of more than Rs 2 crore and offences had been registered against them at the Arnala Sagari Tulinj and Nalla Sopara police stations the official said as per the PTIThe gang active in the VasaiVirar area here used to advertise flats at cheaper rates and dupe people from the region senior police inspector Pramod Badakh saidIn September 2022 the gang members promised a flat in Virar to a person and took Rs 783 lakh from him he saidHowever they failed to give possession of the flat to the person following which he filed a complaint and the Arnala Sagri police then registered under Indian Penal Code sections 420 cheating 465 471 forgery and 34 common intentionFour of the gang members were subsequently arrested while the main accused remained at large the official saidA police probe team worked on various leads and nabbed the main accused from Vasai area here on January 27 the official saidFurther probe was on into the caseMeanwhile in an another incident in Thane acomputer technician from Thane district in Maharashtra lost Rs 1733 lakh in an online task fraud an officials said on Wednesday reported the PTIThe computer technician has become the latest victim of an online fraud wherein fraudsters lured him with the promise to earn quick money by rating some tasks and investing in bitcoins a police official said as per the PTIThe victim a resident of Dombivali township lost Rs 1733 lakh in the fraud from December 8 2023 to January 9The victim was approached with offers to earn big money through social media platforms He was promised huge returns simply by rating certain online tasks and investing in bitcoins The victim invested Rs 1733 lakh over a month He failed to receive any returns and his investment was also blocked the official said according to the PTIThe online task fraud typically involves trapping victims by making them perform tasks like liking videos etc and making small payments initially to win their trustThe victims were later lured to invest money to earn big returnsA case was registered under the Information Technology Act and further investigation is underway the official addedwith PTI inputs