E-Paper
Fake lawyer dupes 40-year-old of Rs 10.80 lakh in Pune’s Mundhwa area
Victim needed a lawyer’s assistance to sign a memorandum of understanding with another person regarding development rights of a piece of land in Ghorpadigaon
The Mundhwa police have arrested a man who impersonated as an advocate and cheated a Ghorpadi resident of Rs 10.80 lakh between 2013 and 2014.
The police have booked the accused, Jyotiba Vinayak Adhav, a resident of Mundhwa, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 419 (criminal breach of trust by a public servant), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for the puropose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) after a complaint was lodged by the victim identified as Wasim Hanif Shaikh (40), a resident of Ghorpadi.
Shaikh in his complaint stated that he needed a lawyer’s assistance to sign a memorandum of understanding with another person regarding development rights of a piece of land in Ghorpadigaon.
According to the complainant, he came to know about Adhav and hired him. By showing his professional credentials, Adhav won Shaikh’s confidence and requested him to be allowed to mediate the land deal and subsequent transactions. Shaikh gave him an aggregate amount of Rs 10.80 lakh through cheques on different occasions since 2013. However, after a few days, Adhav faltered on his promise and Shaikh demanded a refund. With Adhav avoiding his calls, Shaikh confronted him and sought cancellation of the land deal. Adhav gave the complainant three cheques estimated for Rs 10.50 lakh, but it bounced, according to the complaint.
When Shaikh through a Right to Information (RTI) application filed with the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa found that Adhav did not hold any legal ‘sanad’ which is mandatory for practising law, he lodged an FIR in the case, the complaint states.
Police have arrested Adhav and further investigation is on.
