Cop’s wife files ₹31 lakh cheating case against ex-cop’s wife

The woman’s husband works with the Railways and her complaint says she was cheated after promising high returns on investment

Navi Mumbai

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A police officer’s wife from Panvel has registered a cheating case against the wife of a former police official for allegedly swindling her for Ra 31 lakh, promising high returns on investment.

. The complainant Pooja Devidas Sonawane (48), a resident of Panvel, was friends with Pushpalata Ramesh Jadhav as her husband and complainant’s husband were in the police department. Jadhav, had left the department few years ago, while Sonawane is posted as assistant commissioner of police in Railways. In 2019, Jadhav and her husband told Sonawane family that Pushpalata was into business and earned good profit out of it. They told that she used to take up tenders from government and do the infrastructure as well as electrical work. According to the complainant, the Jadhavs claimed that though the tenders were procured in the name of Pushpalata, Ramesh was the main person who did all the work.

The complainant has alleged that the Jadhavs told that whenever they get a tender, the government pays them some amount in advance but it takes a little time for the money to reach them due to the procedures involved. Hence Jadhavs offered Sonawane to enter into 50-50 partnership in which Sonawane had to pay the initial expenditure amount which would be repaid after the government releases the funds. Pushpalata and Pooja entered into a partnership on a stamp paper. The documents did not mention Ramesh’s name. When Sonawane asked about the same, Jadhavs told that since the license was int the name of Pushpalata, only her name could be used in the document.

“The complainant has claimed that they were made to transfer money into the account of forest department. After a while when the complainants started to demand to see the work that was being done using the money which the Jadhavs kept avoiding,” a police officer from Khandeshwar police station said. Later Jadhav told Sonawane that in a project for constructing protection wall for the mangroves, the work was not completed and hence their tender was cancelled and they incurred losses. SOnawanes argued that in the agreement signed, this project was not mentioned so how could they use their money for that project following which Jadhav stopped answering the calls.

Of the ₹43.27 lakh invested by Sonawane, Jadhavs paid back ₹25 lakh and are yet to pay them back ₹31.25 lakh. Since they started avoiding the calls and responding to the messages, Sonawanes approached police station and registered a case against both husband wife duo under the sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention). “we have served a notice to Jadhav as per the procedure,” senior police inspector Chandrakant Landge from Khandeshwar police station said.