Man conned of Rs 1.2 crore, duo booked

Mumbai: A jeweller has been arrested for conning a businessman of Rs 1.2 crore by luring him to invest the amount in his jewelry store in return for handsome gains.

The victim, a Navi Mumbai resident, was about to invest in land in the city when he came into contact with Ravindra Soni (52) and Preetam Singh (45), who connived and got the complainant to invest in Soni's jewellery store instead. Soni is into jewellery making and has a shop in Borivali. The complainant has a steel business and industries at five locations in Maharashtra and was vying for further investment in real estate to diversify his portfolio.

A crime branch officer said, “Soni first met the complainant in 2013 and was in touch. Later, Soni introduced him to Singh and lured him with 30 per cent returns on investment in his jewelry business. The money was credited via online transactions into the bank account of the accused.”

However, the complainant grew suspicious after Soni and Singh started avoiding his phone calls. They began evading his queries on returns on his investment. After the complainant put pressure on the duo, they issued him three cheques which all but bounced.

The complainant then approached the magisterial court, which directed the Kasturba Marg police to register a case and probe into his allegations. A case of cheating was registered against Soni and Singh, who were tracked down to Vile Parle by a team of unit XII of the crime branch.