Police catches Pune businessman who cheated partner of Rs 81 crore

The Bangur Nagar Police on Sunday arrested a realty developer suspected of having cheated his business partner of Rs. 81.6 crore. The accused, Dharmesh Ghatani of Pune, 45, over a year ago, allegedly took the money on the pretext of developing a few properties in Thane. Another accused, his uncle, could not be arrested because he is out of the country, police said.

Senior police inspector D Jawalkar of Bangur Nagar police station said, "The complainant, Nenshi Shah (55) of Malad, deposited the money into a joint bank account, which was later withdrawn by Ghatani. However, further inquiries by Shah revealed that he had not purchased any land." Ghatani also failed to produce documents of purchase.

When Shah realised that the money was not used to develop properties as promised, he asked Ghatani to return the money. When Ghatani failed to return the money, Shah registered a case of cheating with the Bangur Nagar police.

The police suspect that Ghatani invested the money in another business that he ran, and that his uncle was also part of this conspiracy.

The Bangur Nagar police has arrested Ghatani for cheating, criminal conspiracy and common intention under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. "We will be arresting the second accused soon. He is out of the country. Further investigations are on," added Jawalkar.