Man arrested from Gurugram for duping Mumbai consultant of ₹71.7 lakh to spend on gambling

Pant Nagar police arrested a former senior executive of a private insurance company from Gurugram for allegedly duping a Ghatkopar consultant to the tune of ₹71.7

Pant Nagar police arrested a former senior executive of a private insurance company from Gurugram for allegedly duping a Ghatkopar consultant to the tune of ₹71.7 lakh. The accused spent the money on gambling in casinos, the police said.

HT Image

The accused Sourabh Gandhi, an assistant branch manager with an insurance company, had duped Jagannath Govind Raju, 45, a consultant working for a private firm.

Gandhi had duped Raju promising higher returns in an investment scheme. The consultant, shared details of 14 credit cards with the accused, who then transferred ₹3.15 crore to his electronic wallet through them and withdrew the money at different intervals.

Gandhi returned ₹2.44 crore of the ₹3.15 crore. But when he failed to return the remaining amount, Raju registered a case with Pant Nagar police station in Ghatkopar (East). Gandhi is accused of cheating several others.

“In 2018, he called me in April to ask if I could invest money in his investment scheme. He promised me higher returns and asked for my bank and credit card details. I ended up believing his scheme. Gandhi used all the extreme intimidation tactics and terrorised me to pay so much for over 5 months,” Raju said.

“Between April and November, he debited around ₹3.15 crore from my cards. He returned ₹2.44 crore from his sister’s account, but is yet to return ₹71 lakh,” Raju said.

After looking for him for nearly two years, the police finally succeeded in locating him. “We have arrested Gandhi from Gurugram and brought him to Mumbai. Charged with sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust), Gandhi has been remanded in police custody by the local court till November 6,” said inspector Babasaheb Misal of Pant Nagar police station.

Misal added, “Investigations have revealed that he has spent the fraudulently obtained money in gambling in casinos. Nothing could be recovered from him. The accused has similarly cheated few other people as well. We would seek his further custody while producing him in court on Friday.”