Wife of policeman dupes 16 of ₹82 lakh

A Navi Mumbai police constable's wife duped 16 people, including police families, of ₹82 lakh through a fake chit fund scheme, prompting a police investigation.

Navi Mumbai: Even as Navi Mumbai police keeps forewarning citizens about fraudulent schemes through its WhatsApp channel, the wife of a police constable has been booked for duping 16 persons, including the wives of 11 policemen, of ₹82 lakh under the garb of investing in a chit fund. The accused as well as the victims are all residents of the police colony in Belapur.

Wife of policeman dupes 16 of ₹82 lakh

As per the preliminary report filed with Belapur police, 44-year-old Sarika Lakshman Chavan, whose husband is a constable attached to Nerul police station, began approaching residents in her colony to invest in chit funds in the year 2019. She assured them of good returns – for instance, those who invested ₹500 every month for three years would get ₹25,000 at the end of the term instead of ₹18,000, the principal amount, whereas those who invested ₹1,000 per month for a year would get ₹15,000 instead of ₹12,000.

Since Chavan was well-known in the colony, wives of several policemen trusted her and agreed to invest in the scheme. But instead of returning the principal amount and the interest to investors at the end of the first year, she reinvested the money without informing them or seeking their consent. Whenever investors asked her about their money, she assured them of higher returns in the subsequent year.

In 2022, Chavan informed the investors that the money had been given as loan to a businessman and it would be returned only when the businessman repaid the loan. After this, whenever the investors asked her to return their money, she abused and threatened to assault them and kidnap their children.

“The accused also threatened to file false complaints against the husbands of women who invested in her scheme when they demanded their money back,” said a police officer.

The threats prompted 32-year-old Sonam Kachgunde, wife of a traffic police constable, and other victims to report the matter at the Belapur police station, based on which a case was registered on September 26 under sections 420, 504 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

“The accused has been served with a notice and further investigation is underway,” said senior police inspector Gridhar Gore. He said the number of victims who were duped by the accused may be higher as some transactions were conducted online as well.