5 arrested for cheating liquidator of Rs 3.6 crore

Mateen Hafeez I TNN





Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW) busted a racket that cheated the official liquidator, ministry of corporate affairs, by stealing its cheques and encashing them in separate bank accounts.The accused had taken different cheques of the official liquidator amounting to Rs 25 crore and managed to encash Rs 3.60 crore.
Five people were arrested including a bank clerk, Narendra Kumbhare, his associates Suraj Thakur and Indrasingh Barot, both cheque discounters, Prabhakar Musalge, a travel agent and Geetabhau Panmand, a driver.

Police said S Ramakant, official liquidator, lodged the complaint and stated that they have an account in Punjab Na tional Bank while their office is located in the Bank of India (BOI) building at Fort. The liquidator has accounts in various banks and liquidates properties on the high court's order.Most of the money is kept in banks as fixed deposits to get good interest.

The accused had opened an account in the name of `Official Liquidator Company' at BOI's Santa Cruz branch, whereas the complainant's account was in the name of `Official Liquidator'.“Kumbhare was going to deposit a cheque in his office building's BOI branch when he met one of the accused.

The accused took the cheque from Kumbhare, saying he will deposit it in the Santa Cruz branch,“ said a police officer.Kumbhare was given Rs 2.20 lakh as commission which the police recovered from his house in Dombivli. The accused deposited the cheque in their own account, whose name was similar to that of the liquidator, and made a 15-day fixed deposit, while it should have been for a year. After its maturity the money was transferred to their account. Meanwhile, the accused furnished a duplicate receipt to Kumbhare who submitted it to his office.The accused deposited two other cheques amounting to Rs 10 crore each in the Santa Cruz branch. One day , when Kumbhare called up the bank to inquire about something, the bank manager became suspicious about the FD. He began an internal inquiry and found several irregularities. Later, he informed the office of the official liquidator. Police said Panmand used his Rs 60 lakh commission to buy some properties for his brother in his hometown, Ahmednagar.

The Times of India, March 21, 2015

Duo cons Mhada home buyers of `3cr, arrested

Mateen Hafeez I  TNN





Mumbai: Two businessmen have been arrested for allegedly cheating several people of at least Rs 3 crore by promising them flats at discounted rates under the chief minister’s quota for minorities. The accused- —Goregaon resident Shashikant Patil (45) and Malad resident Madhukar Acharya (52)—had approached the buyers, most of them Parsis, by promising them flats in Mhada (the state housing body) buildings in Bandra.
A police complaint was lodged at Azad Maidan police station by Gowalia Tank resident Nevill Mistry who was among those who had paid up. The case has been transferred to the economic offences wings of the city police.

A police officer said that Patil and Acharya had approached Mistry, claiming that they knew key people in Mhada and could help him get a flat measuring at least 1,000 sq ft under the minority quota at a cheap rate. The houses were promised in ‘Stisha’, a building on Mount Mary Road in Bandra.
The location was later changed to Borivli. “They had taken the amount in cash but had not issued any receipt. Instead, they showed Mistry and the other prospective buyers allotment letters which were fake,” said the officer. “They convinced them that once the money would be handed over to the housing officials concerned, the flats would be issued in their name.”

 The police have sought information from Mhada, whether it has any flats in the building in Bandra where the flats had been originally promised.

Assistant police inspector Vikrant Shirsat said the number of people who have been cheated could go up. “The amount taken from various buyers could go up to Rs 7 crore,” he said. The police have seized the fake allotment letters from the accused who have been sent to custody till March 25.

The Times of India, March 20, 2015

ALLEGATIONS BY SENIOR COP'S WIFE - `Ex-biz partner told me to sleep with govt officials'

Mateen Hafeez I TNN





Mumbai: The wife of an additional DGP , now posted in Delhi, has accused her former business partner of coaxing her to sleep with government officials. An FIR of molestation was registered at the Bandra-Kurla Complex police station and later transferred to the crime branch.

 The woman, an entrepreneur, in her complaint stated she and the accused planned to start a company , but the accused later asked her to sleep with senior government officials to get work done and would look at her weirdly , said a police officer. The accused, who has investments in several businesses, earlier floated a `farmers-to-consumers' scheme for buying and selling vegetables and fruits. “The complainant and the accused had planned to float a new business. She said in her complaint that she had chalked out the plans and came up with a new concept for the firm. The duo signed a memorandum of understanding, but the plan was not executed even after six months. However, the accused floated a firm in Jaipur using the same concept,“ said an officer. The businessman is also accused of passing comments at the complainant.

Looking at the gravity of the case, the investigation was handed over to the Crime Against Women (CAW) cell of the crime branch. “We have issued a notice to the accused to appear before the investigating officer,“ said the source. The CAW cell mainly comprises women cops and sensitive cases are transferred to this branch. “Our probe is at a crucial stage and we can't reveal much about it. We have summoned the businessman for his statement. An official of the rank of ACP is supervising the probe,“ added the source.





The Times of India, March 19, 2015

PARAM BIR TAKES CHARGE IN THANE - Kulkarni is city crime branch chief





Mumbai: Atulchandra Kulkarni, a 1990 batch regular recruit IPS, took charge as joint commissioner of Mumbai crime branch and Param Bir Singh as Thane police commissioner on Tuesday. TOI had reported that the CM was likely to appoint Singh and Kulkarni for the respective posts in its Tuesday edition.

 The crime branch chief's post was lying vacant for a month since Sadanand Date was transferred to CRPF. EOW chief Rajvardhan Sinha was holding acting charge of the post.

Kulkarni, who was born in Solapur, joined the force in 1990.A mechanical engineer, he also holds a law degree. “I am getting to know the people and work here. I will review people's expectations and where we need to focus. I have worked in counter-terrorism department and would use the experience here,“ Kulkarni said after taking charge. “I will focus on how can we make our personnel efficient and effective.“ He will leave for Jodhpur on Wednesday for a threeday training. --Mateen Hafeez





The Times of India, March 18, 2015

Meow-Meow constable's boss transferred out, girlfriend supplied drugs found in home, office

Mateen Hafeez





Mumbai: Senior inspector Pravin Chinchalkar of the Marine Drive police station has been transferred out following the arrest of head constable Dharma Karokhe after 12kg of a banned drug was found in his office locker.
Chinchalkar, who has a reputation of being a sincere officer, was on Wednesday sent to the Special Branch, considered to be the city police's intelligence backbone, but seen as a `punishment posting'. The Satara police had on Monday detained and later arrested Karokhe, a 1987 batch constable, after they recovered 110kg of Mephedrone, or Meow-Meow, worth around Rs 21 crore from his house in Kanheri village in Khandala taluka, Satara. He was booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. If proved guilty, Karokhe may be imprisoned for 10-20 years and fined up to Rs 1 lakh.

Soon after the city police were informed about Karokhe's detention in Satara, they searched his personal locker at Marine rive police station and found 12kg Mephedrone and two bottles of liquor.The drug and the liquor were seized in the presence of two witnesses. Police chief Rakesh Maria has ordered dismissal proceedings against Karokhe.“The report will be sent to the police commissioner within a day or two,“ said a senior police officer. A separate case under the NDPS Act has been registered against Karokhe in Mumbai.

During interrogation, Karokhe told the police that he used to get the drug from his girlfriend, Baby Patankar, a known drug dealer in Mumbai.Several narcotic cases have been registered against her. “I used to sell the drug through my sources,“ Karokhe reportedly told the police. Police are on the lookout for Baby. The police have searched Karokhe's Mumbai home, but haven't found anything.

Drawing a lesson from the recovery of drugs from Karokhe's locker, top police officers have decided to order checks on the official cupboards and vehicles of police personnel at regular intervals.

Karokkhe was part of the intelligence wing of the Marine Drive police station and was entrusted to collect intelli gence from mills and unions.He was on a 10-day leave as “his father had passed away“. He had been transferred to the Malabar Hill police station, but his Marine Drive senior officers had not relieved him.

Mephedrone is a psychotropic substance and was included in the NDPS Act in February . Almost a decade ago, another Marine Drive police constable, Sunil More, had been dismissed after his arrest on charges of raping a college girl inside a police chowky . He was convicted and imprisoned for 12 years.

Minister promises action against cops

Mephedrone made an `appearance' in the legislature on Wednesday. Minister of state for home (urban) Rajneet Patil said the government will probe any police personnel found in possession of the banned drug. He also said that the transport license of Konduskar Travels will be cancelled and an inquiry conducted against them as the drug was found in one of their buses. TNN


TIMES VIEW:
Something is seriously wrong with the force when 12 kg of a drug, recently included on the NDPS list and which can cost up to Rs 2.4 crore in the market, is found stashed inside a police station. Seniors have already initiated a probe but it must go beyond this one case and get to the root of the malaise.





The Times of India, March 12, 2015

Ex-accountant of SIES held in Rs 58 crore cheating case

Mateen Hafeez I TNN





Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW) on Monday arrested a woman accountant in the alleged cash-credit cheating case of Rs 58 crore. The police had earlier arrested five persons in this case in which the accused had duped the South Indian Education Society (SIES) by promising them high returns on their fixed deposits. Varsha Goilkar, who earlier worked with the SIES as an accountant, was terminated from her job soon after the cheating case was registered.

The police have so far arrested Mohammed Fasih, chairman and managing director of the Showman Group that runs the countrywide Sheesha lounge chain, Avinash Khandale, Roy Josesph and Anil Pawar, an MBA, in the cheating case.There are more than 18 FIRs against the accused, including 14 with the Mumbai EOW alone.The cheating amount mentioned in these 18 FIRs is more than Rs 2.50 crore.

“Pawar had approached SIES through Goilkar, his former colleague. As commission, Goilkar got more than Rs 3 lakh from Pawar. She had been summoned several times. Once her role was established, she was arrested,“ said a senior EOW officer. Goilkar is the first woman to be arrested in this case. Her husband, S B Goilkar, said his wife had been cooperating with the police and that Pawar had threatened them to keep quiet.The police have filed a chargesheet in 8 such cases against Pawar and his aides.





The Times of India, March 11, 2015

12 more kg of drugs found in cop's office cupboard

Mateen Hafeez I TNN





Mumbai: A day after Mumbai police head constable Dharma Karokhe was found in possession of 110kg of Mephedrone at his Satara residence, the city police and the narcotics cell on Tuesday recovered 12kg of the drug from his cupboard at the Marine Drive police station. Karokhe was arrested and has been remanded in police custody till March 16.
Karokhe, investigators suspected, used to peddle drugs from the police station. Many heads are likely to roll and proceedings for his dismissal have begun. A probe has also been ordered into how he smuggled the drugs into the police station without anyone's knowledge.

Mephedrone is a psychotropic substance and was brought under the NDPS Act in February .
The Satara police informed their Mumbai counterparts soon after they detained Ka rokhe and found the drug consignment at his house. A team led by additional commissioner of police (south region) Krishna Prakash, in the presence of two government witnesses, searched the cupboard.
Police commissioner Rakesh Maria has directed initiation of action under Article 311 (2) for Karokhe's dismissal.

Almost a decade ago, Marine Drive constable Sunil More was dismissed after his arrest for raping a college girl at the chowky , and he was sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Karokhe, part of the Marine Drive police station's intelligence wing, was on 10 days leave, claiming his father had passed away .

Meanwhile, the Customs preventive unit (Pune) on Tuesday arrested Ayub Makarandar, Ravindra Konduskar and Nasir Sanghi in the 405kg Mephedrone seizure case. All have been remanded in custody for 14 days.

The Times of India, March 11, 2015