In a joint action by the Southern Command intelligence unit and the Pune city police, a case has been registered against a woman posing as a Railway ticket collector (TC) and her aide for allegedly cheating a retired Indian Army personnel of Rs 17 lakhs after false assurances of providing jobs in railways to two women in his family. Suresh Naik (39), a former Army personnel residing in Omkar society in Wanavdi, lodged a complaint at the Wanavdi police station on December 25. According to the FIR, Naik retired from the Army in April 2021 and then started working as an electrician. In September 2022, he got a call from a woman, identifying herself as Sangita Patane, for some electrical work at her residence in Raheja Garden in Wanavdi. According to the woman, Patane claimed to be a Railway TC and also showed a ID card and batch to Naik to gain his confidence. She also allegedly claimed that her husband works with the Border Secuirty Force. She allegedly said she can provide jobs in railways to Naik's family members. Meanwhile, in November 2022, the woman asked for money from Naik saying her husband is suffering from brain tumor and assured to return it after reimbursement of the mediclaim.Naik allegedly transferred Rs 11.77 lakhs into the woman's account. In May 2023, the woman allegedly took Rs 5.5 lakhs for providing railway jobs to two women in Naik's family, the FIR stated. The FIR further mentions that the woman sent a fake joining letter of railways and a fake bank receipt to Naik, but she did not provide any job as promised by her. Naik then demanded his money back from the woman but never got it back. The woman's aide, identified as Shubham, allegedly threatened to kill Naik over phone, the FIR stated. Naik further came to know that the woman's husband was not suffering from brain tumor and cheating cases were lodged against her at different police stations in the past. After receiving information, the intelligence unit of Southern Command initiated a probe into this matter. Subsequently, an FIR was lodged and the police booked the woman and her aide under Sections 406, 420, 467, 471, 506, 34 of the IPC. Police said no arrests have been made yet in this case, but an investigation is on.
