Javed Jaffery cheating case: BMC officer untraceable in ₹16-Crore investment fraud

BMC's Mahesh Patil is untraceable after being implicated in a ₹16.24-crore fraud case involving actor Javed Jaffery's family and fake investment schemes.

MUMBAI: Assistant municipal commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mahesh Patil has gone untraceable after being named in a ₹16.24-crore cheating case involving actor Javed Jaffery’s family, Mumbai Crime Branch officers said on Wednesday.

Javed Jaffery cheating case: BMC officer untraceable in ₹16-Crore investment fraud

The case pertains to an alleged investment fraud in which the complainant, Javed Jaffery’s wife, Habiba Jaffery has accused the suspects of luring the family into investing in a Bandra redevelopment project using forged government documents and false promises of high returns.

The Crime Branch has now arrested a second accused, Rupesh More, who allegedly posed as government staff to convince the family to invest in a Bandra property project. More has been remanded in police custody till Tuesday. Earlier, police had arrested overseas citizen of India (OCI) businessman Nishit Patel in the same case.

“We registered the case on May 13 against assistant commissioner Mahesh Patil and others. We visited BMC quarters in Tardeo but found Patil untraceable,” said an officer from Mumbai Crime Branch.

According to the FIR registered at Khar police station, Habiba Jaffery first met Patil at his BMC office in Bandra in April 2024 while seeking clarification regarding a tax-related matter. During the interaction, Patil allegedly informed her about an investment opportunity in a Bandra property project and advised her to route investments through Patel.

Police said the Jaffery family allegedly sold properties and transferred money through various bank accounts specified by the accused. Investigators said the accused used fake government documents to project the investment as genuine and gain the family’s confidence. Naved Jaffery, Javed Jaffery’s brother, was also allegedly persuaded to invest in the project. The fraud, which involved bank transfers, cash, foreign currency, and luxury watches, was discovered when the promised investment transfers failed to materialize.

Apart from Patil, Patel and More, the main accused in the case, the FIR also names Sagar Mehta, Devendra Padwal and others.

Investigators suspect the group may be involved in additional cases of a similar nature involving influential people and are continuing their efforts to trace Patil.