Man held for duping women with fake welfare scheme

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A 35-year-old man has been arrested by the Beed police for allegedly cheating several women by posing as a govt officer and promising them free household equipment under a fake welfare scheme.The accused — identified as Gorakshanath Navnath Panhalkar (35), a resident of Nalwandi in Patoda taluka of Beed district — was arrested from Jalna city on March 9 after a technical investigation traced his mobile location.According to the police, the accused frequently changed SIM cards and switched off his mobile phone to evade detection. "However, investigators eventually tracked his location and detained him in Jalna," a police officer said.During the calls, the accused introduced himself as a social welfare department official and falsely claimed that the beneficiaries would receive free utensil kits under the ‘Ladki Bahin' welfare scheme of the state govt.The probe has revealed that the accused lured multiple victims by telling them that the kits would include items like sewing machine and flour mill. He then asked each woman to transfer Rs 2,250 as transportation charges through a QR code."Several women transferred the money believing the caller to be a govt official. However, after receiving the payment, the accused would stop responding to calls," a police officer said.Beed superintendent of police Navneet Kanwat, while talking to TOI, said, "Preliminary investigation in this case has revealed that the accused has duped a large number of women. We suspect that he intentionally cheated people of smaller amounts so that the victim is not even interested in lodging a police complaint."After receiving oral complaints of similar nature, one victim agreed to lodge a formal complaint following which a case was registered at Amalner police station. The complaint was filed by Kavita Vitthal Pawar (40), a farmer from Pimpalwandi village in Patoda taluka of Beed district.Based on her complaint, police registered an offence on Feb 15 under section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Investigators said the accused used a mobile number to call women residing in villages under the jurisdiction of Amalner police station.The investigation was carried out by assistant police inspector Bhargav Sapkal along with a team from the Beed local crime branch. After his arrest, Panhalkar was produced before a court that remanded him in judicial custody.