Woman duped of ₹22.31 crore in land fraud in Mumbai; 8 arrested

They manipulated her signatures, leading to unauthorized fund transfers from her account, prompting her to file a police complaint.

Eight persons have been booked on Saturday for allegedly cheating a Nalasopara woman of ₹22.31 crore, the compensation she received after her ancestral land was acquired for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train project.

Using the number, the accused allegedly transferred the compensation amount to their own accounts without her knowledge. (PTI file photo for representation)

The complainant, Maya Chavan, 54, alleged that in July 2018, eight men approached her claiming they had purchased the land from her family in 2015 for ₹1.15 crore.

According to police, the accused allegedly took her signatures and thumb impressions on several documents under the pretext of updating land records. Based on these documents, the government deposited ₹22.31 crore into Chavan’s bank account as compensation in February, 2026.

Later, one of the accused, Umesh Rana, along with his associates, allegedly obtained a SIM card in Chavan’s name and linked it to her bank account. Using the number, the accused allegedly transferred the compensation amount to their own accounts without her knowledge. After discovering the fraud, Chavan approached police and a case was registered. The accused have been identified as Umesh Rana, Sanjay Joshi, Aslam Sarojia, Venu Gopal Joshi, Vaikunth Pandey, Sunil Chaurasia, Arun Ramsingh and Javed Rafiq Ansari.