THANE: In Maharashtra’s Thane district, fraudsters reportedly deceived 11 residents by enticing them with low-cost housing options under a government scheme. They allegedly forged credentials to open bank accounts for larger financial transactions, according to police reports released on Monday.
A 54-year-old woman from Ulhasnagar, who filed the complaint, claimed that the suspects built her trust by offering a house at a discounted price under the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) scheme.
The perpetrators attracted victims by presenting MHADA flats at economical rates and collected funds over the past two years. They misappropriated personal information to acquire SIM cards, set up email accounts, and open bank accounts, as stated by an official from the Hill Line police station.
Each of the 11 victims was charged Rs 5,000, totaling Rs 55,000 harvested by the fraudsters. They illegally used the victims’ details to conduct larger financial transactions through bank accounts they created.
The official remarked, “They allegedly transferred money to various bank accounts belonging to companies and builders using fake signatures and documents, thereby defrauding the victims and violating their trust.”
Following the woman’s complaint on Saturday, police initiated a case against three individuals under relevant cheating and forgery statutes.
Authorities suspect that more individuals might have fallen victim to similar schemes and encourage everyone to verify claims regarding government housing initiatives before making any payments.
