Bollywood actor Disha Patani's father, Jagdish Singh Patani, was allegedly defrauded of ₹25 lakh by a group of five individuals who promised him a high-ranking position in a government commission, police told news agency PTI on Friday.
An FIR was registered in the case at Bareilly Kotwali police station on Friday evening by Jagdish Singh Patani, who is a retired deputy superintendent of police.
Also Read: Bengaluru woman's ₹4.5 lakh ‘business opportunity’ meeting sparks MLM scam fears
The Kotwali police station in-charge DK Sharma said a case had been registered against Shivendra Pratap Singh, Diwakar Garg, Acharya Jayaprakash from Juna Akhara, Preeti Garg, and one unidentified person for cheating, criminal intimidation, and extortion.
Also Read: Assam online trading scam: CBI conducts raids in 5 states; 1 key accused arrested
“Efforts are underway to arrest the accused and take strict action,” Sharma added.
{{/usCountry}}“Efforts are underway to arrest the accused and take strict action,” Sharma added.
{{/usCountry}}Jagdish Singh Patani, who resides in Bareilly's Civil Lines area, alleged that Shivendra Pratap Singh, whom he knew personally, introduced him to Diwakar Garg and Acharya Jayaprakash. They claimed to have strong political connections and assured Patani that they could help him secure a position as a chairman, vice-chairman, or a similar prestigious post in a government commission
Also Read: Scammer pretending to be a police officer left shocked when real cop answers his call: 'Ye kaam chhod do bhai'
The group allegedly took ₹25 lakh from Jagdish Patani - ₹5 lakh in cash and ₹20 lakh through money transfers to three different bank accounts.
After there was no progress for three months, the accused told Patani that they would return the money with interest. Patani demanded his money back, which is when they started to issue threats and behave aggressively towards him, police officials said.
In the complaint, Patani also stated that the accused misled him by introducing one of his accomplices as an “officer on special duty” named Himanshu to reinforce their false claims of political connections.
After Patani grew suspicious that this incident was linked to a larger fraud, he lodged a complaint with the police.