1 arrested for duping over 500 MHADA home buyers, police suspect role of bigger gang
3 min readPuneJan 30, 2025 05:04 PM IST
The Pimpri-Chinchwad police recently arrested a suspect who allegedly cheated over 500 people by falsely assuring them of providing apartments constructed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
The accused was identified as Pratik Rajesh Dhainje, a resident of Dighi Road in Bhosari.
Dhainje was arrested within a day of a complaint being lodged by one Bahubali Vagyani, 38, on January 25.
As per the FIR, Vagyani and Dhainje earlier worked together as ‘sorting executives’ at a prominent E-commerce company in Pimpri Chinchwad.
Later, the complainant left his job and started working at another place. Meanwhile, in October 2022, Dhainje allegedly approached Vagyani and claimed that he had developed contacts with senior government officers. Dhainje assured Vagyani of providing a house at a low price under the MHADA lottery scheme by using his contacts.
The complainant allegedly transferred Dhainje Rs 3,000 through online mode in February 2023 for an MHADA flat. After a few days, Dhainje forwarded a forged letter to the complainant on WhatsApp claiming that MHADA homes had been sanctioned to eight people. The police said the letter carried the fake signature of an MHADA official.
The FIR mentions that along with the complainant, more persons in his contact agreed to pay money to Dhainje to get an MHADA apartment. The police claimed 75 people allegedly transferred Rs 3,000 each to the complainant, who then forwarded the amount to Dhainje. But none of them got an apartment from MHADA.
Story continues below this ad
However, Dhainje allegedly asked them to keep their documents ready for seeking possession of MHADA apartments. He also allegedly furnished some more fake documents like the ‘MHADA offer letter’ to win the trust of the victims, the FIR mentions.
Further, he asked the complainant to add all his contacts who paid money for MHADA apartments to a WhatsApp group named “MHADA update group”.
Apart from the 75 victims, Dhainje has reportedly cheated two more people of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh in a similar manner.
Assistant Police Inspector Somnath Tapare, the investigation officer, said, “Accused Pratik (Dhainje) was arrested and a court remanded him in police custody for further investigation. So far, we have information that he cheated several people to the tune of Rs 22.41 lakh on fake promises of giving them MHADA homes. But investigation hints at a larger scam. We suspect that he has cheated over 500 persons and there is a possibility of involvement of more persons in the fraud.”
This content is sourced from indianexpress.com and is shared for informational purposes only.
