Actor Disha Patani’s dad loses Rs 25L to fraudsters

Bareilly: Former deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jagdish Singh Patani, father of actor Disha Patani, was allegedly duped of Rs 25 lakh by a group of five "influential people" who promised him a "high ranking position" as chairman or vice chairman of a govt commission in Uttarakhand. An FIR was registered at Kotwali police station in Bareilly city against the five accused, identified as Shivendra Pratap Singh, Diwakar Garg, Acharya Jaya Prakash alias Guruji from Juna Akhara in Haridwar, Preeti Garg and one ‘OSD (officer on special duty)' Himanshu (his first name is available). The accused claimed to have "strong political connections". In the police complaint, Patani said, "Six months ago, my neighbour Shivendra Pratap Singh introduced me to east Delhi-based Diwakar Garg and Acharya Jaya Prakash. They promised me a high-ranking position in the Uttarakhand govt. Thereafter, they made me meet OSD Himanshu and then convinced me to transfer Rs 20 lakh in three different accounts while Rs 5 lakh was given in cash to Shivendra."He added: "I was told that if they failed to fulfil the promise, they would return the money with 10% interest. Six months have passed, but nothing happened. When I asked them to return my money, they threatened me with dire consequences. Recently, I came to know that this is an organised racket, and hence I decided to lodge a police complain."Patani told TOI over phone, "I am sure that the accused will be arrested soon."SP (City) Manush Pareek said, "Retired circle officer Jagdish Patani has registered an FIR under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 34 (offence committed by several persons in furtherance of a common intention), 384 (extortion), and 506 (criminal intimidation). The case is being investigated."