71-year-old dupes four firms of ₹1cr; booked

Pune: The Khadak police on Thursday registered a case against a 71-year-old man from Bibvewadi for duping four metal sheet and coil manufacturing firms of over Rs 1 crore, collectively between Aug 2024 and April.

The accused purchased the material worth over Rs 1 crore and has not yet paid them. An employee (31) of one of the firms has lodged a complaint with the police.

An officer from the Khadak police said that, according to the complainant, the suspect contacted him in Aug 2024 and placed an order to supply metal sheets. He gave the complainant a cheque for some advance amount. "The complainant supplied material worth Rs 27.51 lakh to him. The suspect paid him only Rs 8 lakh. The complainant was yet to get the remaining amount of Rs 17.51 lakh,” the officer said.

He said the suspect used a similar modus to dupe three other companies of Rs 83 lakh. Despite repeated follow-ups, when the complainant and other firms did not get their dues, they registered a complaint. "We have registered a case on the charge of criminal breach of trust and cheating against the suspect,” he said.