Three individuals are accused of defrauding a tribal farmer in Maharashtra of Rs 50.27 lakh from his land compensation intended for the Vadhvan Port project.
Key Points
- A tribal farmer in Palghar, Maharashtra, was allegedly cheated of Rs 50.27 lakh.
- The fraud involved the fraudulent withdrawal of land compensation intended for the Vadhvan Port project.
- Three individuals are accused of exploiting the farmer's illiteracy to manipulate bank documents.
- The accused allegedly linked their own contact information to the farmer's account to facilitate the fraudulent withdrawals.
- Police have registered a case of cheating and forgery and have launched an investigation.
Police have registered a case against three persons for allegedly cheating a tribal farmer of Rs 50.27 lakh by fraudulently withdrawing part of his land compensation for the Vadhvan Port project in Maharashtra's Palghar district, officials said on Thursday.
The agricultural land of Kiran Pandu Palava, a resident of Dahanu taluka, had been acquired for the upcoming Vadhvan Port in the district and a compensation amount of Rs 2,91,89,126 was credited into his bank account, Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh said.
Exploiting Illiteracy For Land Compensation Fraud
Taking advantage of the victim's illiteracy and ignorance, three persons lured him to a private bank branch in Boisar recently under the pretext of helping him expedite the government compensation release, he said.
Once inside the bank, the accused fraudulently obtained the victim's signatures and thumb impressions on several documents and a digital machine. By linking their own mobile number and email ID to the victim's newly manipulated banking credentials, they allegedly created fake documents and withdrew Rs 50,27,760 from his funds without his knowledge, Deshmukh said.
Police Investigation Launched
After coming to know of the fraud, the farmer lodged a complaint, based on which the police registered a case on Wednesday against the three accused, all locals, under legal provisions for cheating and forgery and launched a probe into it, he said.
The police appealed to people, especially farmers and those living in rural pockets, not to trust strangers or share sensitive bank account documents, thumbprints, or OTPs for land acquisition or any other government project.
