Man booked for duping woman, relatives of ₹67 lakh

The accused – a Borivali (West) resident – told the complainant and her relatives that he had good knowledge of share trading and can help them earn a good profit if they invested money in shares as per his plans.

Mumbai: A 27-year-old woman from Goregaon filed a complaint against a man who allegedly duped her and her relatives of ₹67.52 lakh by inducing them into investing money in the share market.

Man booked for duping woman, relatives of ₹67 lakh

The accused – identified as Harsh Kotecha – met with the complainant a few years ago.

Kotecha – a Borivali (West) resident – told the complainant and her relatives that he had good knowledge of share trading and can help them earn a good profit if they invested money in shares as per his plans.

Convinced by Kotecha’s claims, the complainant and her relatives between January 2018 and June 2022 deposited ₹67.52 lakh in the accused’s bank account, states the complaint. However, after Kotecha failed to give promised profit to the complainant and her relatives, they started asking to return the invested money.

Kotecha kept on delaying the matter. However, after the victims rigorously pursued their matter, Kotecha gave them cheques. “As these cheques got bounced due to insufficient balance in the account, the victims realised that Kotecha had no intention to return their money,” said a police officer.

Hence, they approached the police and filed a written complaint. Zone-11 DCP looked into the matter and after finding it fit for registration of a cognizable offence, he directed Borivali police station to lodge an FIR and investigate the matter further.

The police on Thursday booked Kotecha under sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code.