Pune: Over 10 duped on pretext of investing in Smart City project

Police said Sudrik had approached several people around July last year, claiming that he owned a company — Baxi International — in Koregaon Park, which was in an agreement with the PMC.

Investigating officer, Sub-Inspector MN Pawar of Koregaon Park police station, said, “Primary probe shows that Sudrik was once the owner of an equipment distribution company. Using some of his contacts from back then, he got in touch with the victims. He had even opened a bank account under the name of the company (Baxi International). He had lured the people with good returns, while asking them to invest in the e-bicycle project under the Smart City initiative of the PMC.”

According to the police, investors realised that they had been cheated when Sudrik stopped responding to their calls. Some of them even filed Right to Information (RTI) application with the PMC, asking whether the civic body had made any agreement with the company of that name. It came to light that PMC had not made any tie-up with a company of that name, added the police.

“Till now, we have been approached by as many as 10 people who have been duped to the tune of over Rs 20 lakh. We expect more people to come forward,” said Pawar.

Police are yet to arrest Sudrik and have launched a search for him.