Palghar: Police have arrested two persons for allegedly cheating over 200 people of Rs 8.71 crore by promising them lucrative returns on investments in various schemes here in Maharashtra, an official said on Wednesday.
The duo, identified as Amit Kantilal Jain and Yogesh Bhalerao, had set up a consultancy firm in Vasai town here through which they allegedly lured people to invest in various schemes and offered them 25 to 50 per cent higher returns, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dr Mahesh Patil said.
They allegedly cheated 215 people and then fled from the town by closing their establishment, the official said in a release.
The police later got information that the accused had fled to Dubai and Mumbai. The police also sought help of the Bureau of Immigration in New Delhi to trace the accused.
Recently, the police got a tip-off that Jain was to come to Chinchoti area here, following which they laid a trap and nabbed him on September 20, the official said.
The police also got information that Bhalerao had returned from Dubai and was hiding in Umbergaon town of Gujarat.
A police team rushed to Umbergaon in Valsad district and nabbed him from there on Monday, the official said.
The police also confiscated properties worth over Rs 70 lakh bought by the accused in Chinchoti area here and at Jejuri in Pune, he said.
A case was registered against them under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, the police added.
