Navi Mumbai: A 29-year-old farmer from Nashik has allegedly been cheated of Rupees 1.44 crore by a man who promised to get him a liquor shop licence in Navi Mumbai, police said on Tuesday. The accused, hailing from Kalyan in Thane district, had convinced the victim that he could facilitate the transfer of a licence of a liquor shop at Panvel in Navi Mumbai from the owner in his name.

Trusting him, the victim, belonging to Niphad in neighbouring Nashik district, along with his brother, paid Rupees 1.44 crore to him in multiple installments between July 2024 and January this year, an official from MFC police station said.

After collecting the amount, the accused allegedly paid rupees 61 lakh to the liquor shop owner, misappropriated the remaining Rupees 83 lakh and failed to secure the licence for the victim, he said. When the victim questioned the accused about the status of the licence and the payments made, the latter issued some cheques as reimbursement. “All the cheques bounced, further raising suspicion,” As per media report, official state.

The accused neither returned the amount nor ensured the transfer of the licence in the victim’s name, he said. Based on the victim’s complaint, an FIR was registered against the accused on August 23 under section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the police said. A detailed probe was underway into the case, they added.

A 79-year-old Powai doctor lost nearly ₹25 lakh in a share trading scam, leading to arrests of two suspects, Prashant Chaudhary and Richard Rao, by the Mumbai Cyber Cell. The doctor, who heads a private company, received a WhatsApp message on July 17 promoting stock investments with a customer care number. After joining a group, he received stock tips and personal assurances from an admin, who created a fake trading ID and password for him.

Over a few weeks, he invested ₹25 lakh, encouraged by apparent profits. When he attempted to withdraw his money, his efforts failed, and the fraudsters claimed he needed to invest more to increase his “score.” After realizing he was scammed, the doctor reported the incident, leading to an investigation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act. Investigators traced the funds to Chaudhary and Rao, who laundered money through multiple bank accounts. Police warn citizens to beware of online investment schemes promising guaranteed returns.

Mumbai: The Wadala Truck Terminal Police have registered a case of culpable homicide against a man over the death of another man.

About The Case

Abdul Hamid Shaikh, 26, a housekeeping staffer at a private firm in Sion, was found unconscious on a footpath in Pratiksha Nagar on the night of August 22 and was declared dead before admission at Sion Hospital. The case was filed on the complaint of Hamid’s mother, Munirabegum Shaikh, a resident of Kokari Agar, MHADA Chawl, Wadala. His father, Shakur, works as a mathadi. Munirabegum is employed in catering.

Hamid was to travel with his father to their native village, Vevpuram in Tamil Nadu, on August 23. On the evening of August 22, he left home around 6.30pm, saying he was going for a walk, but never returned. Around 8pm, a neighbour, Saddam Hasan Sayyed, 19, informed Munirabegum that Hamid was lying unconscious near Gulmohar Building, Pratiksha Nagar Road.

He later told police that Hamid had quarrelled with the accused, Rahul Dhadavad. During the altercation, Rahul allegedly pushed him, causing Hamid to hit the back of a parked tempo and collapse face-first on the ground.

Mumbai: The Matunga police have registered a criminal case, following a court directive, against two firms operating in the solar energy and financial services sectors, Vikram Solar (VSL) and Vikram Capital Management Pvt Ltd (VCMPL), along with 11 of their directors. The accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy and fraud.

About The Case

According to the FIR, the complaint was filed by Nilang Navneet Shah, a 50-year-old businessman and director at Seklink Technologies and Realty Pvt Ltd, a Mumbai-based firm with global operations in technology and realty. Shah alleges that he was defrauded by the directors of the Vikram group of companies under the pretext of a solar module export deal to a US-based buyer, Kopia Power Devco.

The FIR names Vikram Solar Ltd and Vikram Capital Management Pvt Ltd, along with their directors Dnyanesh Chaudhary, Krishna Kumar Maskara, Vikram Swaroop, Probir Roy, Neha Agarwal, Ratnabali Kakkar, Subramani Krishnappa, Ewan Saha, Ulpi Gupta, Siddhnath Pradhan, and Parikshit Chiripal.

In January 2022, Shah was introduced to Dnyanesh Chaudhary through a mutual acquaintance at an office in Dadar East. Chaudhary is a director in both Vikram Solar Ltd and Vikram Capital Management Pvt Ltd. Subsequently, Shah was introduced to other directors of the two companies and multiple meetings were held regarding a proposed business collaboration.

According to the complaint, Chaudhary proposed a business model where Vikram Solar would supply solar photovoltaic modules, and Shah’s Seklink would help facilitate exports to overseas buyers like Kopia Power. The parties agreed on a tripartite agreement signed on January 4, 2023, promising Shah a 12% margin on the deal amounting to Rs 76 crore (approximately $9.6 million). In May 2022, Kopia reportedly issued a purchase order worth $131 million (approx. Rs 1,050 crore) to Vikram Solar and made a 20% advance payment of Rs 210 crore.

Shah claims this critical information was not shared with him, and that the Vikram companies allegedly manipulated the paperwork postdated to misappropriate the funds. As per Shah, Vikram Capital which was not originally part of the Kopia deal was wrongfully introduced as the distributor for the export, and Shah was misled into signing older, backdated agreements that enabled the Vikram group to misuse the Standby Letter of Credit (SBLC) issued for the export transaction.

Instead of using the SBLC funds for producing and exporting PV modules to the US buyer, the accused allegedly diverted the funds to bolster their bid under the Government of India’s Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI – Tranche II), for domestic solar manufacturing. When Shah demanded his 12% margin as agreed, he was promised payment via a postdated cheque. Krishna Kumar Maskara, a director at Vikram Solar, reportedly issued a cheque (No. 677119 dated November 4, 2023) as a guarantee.

However, the cheque bounced twice, once on November 7, 2023, and again on January 29, 2024, with the bank citing a “stop payment” instruction by the drawer. In a further twist, Vikram Solar later claimed the cheque had been lost or stolen, which Shah asserts is a blatant attempt to cover up the “fraud”. Shah, realising the extent of the alleged fraud, filed a written complaint with Matunga police station and moved the 30th Court in Kurla.

The court has since directed the police to register a criminal case. Following court orders, the Matunga police have registered a case under the Indian Penal Code Sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent), 417 (cheating), 418 (cheating with knowledge), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property)