Mumbai: Fake Deputy Collector Arrested in ₹20.56 Lakh Fraud Case

The DN Nagar Police have arrested a man posing as a Deputy Collector in connection with a fraud case. The accused, identified as Ashok Anekal, was wanted for duping a victim under the pretense of providing an affordable MMRDA-SRA flat. Four others—Kailas Patil, Digambar Lone, Chandrashekhar Karade, and Bhagwan Suralke—are also co-accused in the case.

According to police, the accused gang convinced a man that they could get him a government quota flat at a subsidized price and defrauded him of ₹20.56 lakh. The victim, Vishalsingh Laxmansingh Rajput, a resident of Amboli, Andheri, works for a private firm in Goregaon. A friend introduced him to Kailas Patil, who claimed to have helped several people acquire affordable government flats.

Patil told the victim that a flat worth ₹70 lakh was available under the scheme, but he could arrange it for ₹28 lakh. He then showed him Flat No. A/1404 at the Bhattwadi SRA Co-operative Society in Mogarpada, Andheri, and took ₹2.5 lakh as an advance. However, a few days later, Patil returned the amount, claiming the deal could not be finalized.

Three months later, Patil reconnected with Rajput, introducing him to Digambar Lone, whom he described as an MMRDA official handling the case. Lone then introduced him to Chandrashekhar Karade, and both assured him of expediting the flat allocation process. The victim was asked to pay ₹7 lakh as a token amount.

During this time, Patil also told him that Lone could help him secure a home loan. However, after six months, the flat was still not allotted. Later, Patil arrived in a car with a Maharashtra government nameplate and was accompanied by Ashok Anekal, who was introduced as a Deputy Collector.

Anekal claimed he had been transferred from the Customs Department to MMRDA and was now handling the victim’s flat case. Gaining Rajput’s trust, he demanded ₹22 lakh for finalizing the deal. The victim ended up paying ₹21 lakh.

A few days later, Lone, Patil, and Anekal handed over some notary documents, allegedly in the victim’s wife’s name, as proof of flat ownership. However, the promised possession was never given. When Rajput repeatedly followed up, the accused avoided him, citing various excuses. Despite multiple demands, ₹20.56 lakh was never refunded.

Realizing he had been cheated, Rajput lodged a complaint with DN Nagar Police. Following an investigation, a case was registered against Ashok Anekal, Kailas Patil, Digambar Lone, Chandrashekhar Karade, and Bhagwan Suralke for forging property documents and embezzling ₹20.56 lakh.

After the case was filed, the accused went into hiding. The police launched a special operation to trace them. Following five months of investigation, DN Nagar Police successfully arrested fake Deputy Collector Ashok Anekal. The search for the remaining accused is ongoing.