Three cheated of Rs 65 lakh under pretext of securing Talathi posts

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

In a shocking case of fraud, Vishal Ramsingh Pardeshi (resident of N-9) and Ratnakar Sudhakar Joshi (resident of Sudarshannagar, N-11) of Mangalmurti Urban Co-operative Credit Society allegedly cheated three individuals of Rs 65 lakh. They lured the victims with false promises, claiming that it was not necessary to write the Talathi exam (told to leave it blank), as they would ensure increased marks later.

Following an investigation by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), a case has recently been registered against them at the Cidco Police Station.

Shankar Pandit Dusane (60, resident of Anand Park, Sillod) is a retired government employee. In August 2023, through his son-in-law Bhushan Vispute, he was introduced to the accused—Joshi and Pardeshi. At that time, the duo claimed to have connections with several senior government officials and promised to secure Talathi posts for Dusane's two sons.

For this, they demanded Rs 50 lakh, but instructed that the amount be deposited as a fixed deposit in Joshi’s credit society under joint names. It was agreed that once the job placement was confirmed, the fixed deposit would be withdrawn and the money returned. Trusting them, Dusane made an FD of Rs 50 lakh in their names. The accused also gave assurances that the FD would not be broken unless the job was secured. In January 2024, the Talathi exam results were announced, but the names of Dusane’s sons did not appear in the first two merit lists.

Assured of increasing marks later

Joshi and Pardeshi further told Dusane's sons to simply write answers to the questions they knew in the Talathi exam, assuring them that they would get the remaining marks increased through their contacts with officials. They also claimed that they were going to secure Talathi positions for 22 other candidates like them.

However, when the results were declared, both of Dusane’s sons had failed. When Dusane questioned the accused about this, they claimed they had paid money to officials in Mumbai and would recover and return the amount. But in the end, they neither returned the money nor provided any results.

Broke the FD prematurely

When Dusane grew suspicious, he visited the credit society to inquire and discovered that the accused had prematurely broken the Rs 50 lakh fixed deposit without his consent and had withdrawn the money. Similarly, they took Rs 15 lakh from Shrikant Pakhare by luring him with the promise of making his son a Talathi as well. A case has been registered against both accused at the Cidco Police Station, and the investigation is ongoing, said the police inspector Somanath Jadhav.