GRP constable booked for defrauding colleague of ₹92.5 lakh

According to the police, the accused persuaded the complainant, Yogesh Adate, 43, a GRP crime branch constable posted in Dadar, to raise money by mortgaging his Dombivli flat, withdrawing his Provident Fund (PF), borrowing from 14 individuals and availing a loan from a police credit society

MUMBAI: A Government Railway Police (GRP) constable was booked on Thursday for allegedly cheating his colleague of ₹92.5 lakh by orchestrating an elaborate con, promising to repay three times the amount within a short period.

GRP constable booked for defrauding colleague of ₹92.5 lakh

According to the police, the accused persuaded the complainant, Yogesh Adate, 43, a GRP crime branch constable posted in Dadar, to raise money by mortgaging his Dombivli flat, withdrawing his Provident Fund (PF), borrowing from 14 individuals and availing a loan from a police credit society. Adate had known the accused, Ravindra Darekar, his senior colleague in the GRP crime branch, for several years. Darekar claimed that his relatives, Suresh Ghule and Dattatray Mohite, both Pune-based businessmen, operated a security firm in Hong Kong.

“In January 2024, Darekar told Adate that payments from foreign contracts amounting to about ₹550 crore were lying in multiple bank accounts but could not be withdrawn due to procedural issues with the Reserve Bank of India and pending tax payments,” said a police officer. “Darekar, along with Ghule and Mohite, allegedly convinced Adate to help clear the purported dues, assuring him that he would be repaid thrice the amount once the funds were released.”

The police said that Adate, trusting his colleague, raised ₹92.5 lakh through various means and handed the money to the accused. However, when the promised repayment did not materialise and the accused began avoiding him, Adate grew suspicious and approached the Shivaji Park police on Thursday, as the transactions had taken place outside the GRP crime branch premises.

An offence has been registered under Section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.