Mumbai: Wanted Accused Held for Duping Borivali Couple of ₹72 Lakh in Forex Trading Scam

Nearly two years after a Borivali-based couple was cheated of around ₹72 lakh in the name of forex trading investments, the Kasturba Marg Police have arrested a wanted accused in the case. The arrested accused has been identified as Rajendra Nerlikar, who has now been remanded to police custody by the court.

According to the police, two other co-accused in the case — Deshbhushan Balwant Deshmane and his son Pritam Deshbhushan Deshmane — are residents of Uttar Ajra and Hupari in Kolhapur, just like Nerlikar. The trio allegedly defrauded several people in Mumbai and Kolhapur, and the total amount of the scam is suspected to be over ₹5 crore.

The complainant, Meenal Seth, lives in Borivali with her husband, who works in a private firm. In 2021, the couple visited a Jain temple in Hubballi, Karnataka, where they met Jain monk. Over time, the monk guided the couple on several personal matters, and they began visiting the temple regularly. During this time the couple met Desh Bhushan, his sons Pritam and Rajendra.

The trio told the couple that they were major investors and ran a successful forex trading business. They claimed that many people had invested with them and earned significant returns. Trusting their assurances, the couple decided to invest their shares and money in forex trading through them.

Between April and August 2022, the couple invested ₹72.50 lakh in instalments.

Initially, the accused paid the couple ₹13.32 lakh as returns. However, shortly afterward, they stopped making payments. When questioned, they promised to repay the principal amount along with returns. But the cheques they issued bounced, and the accused stopped answering calls.

Realising something was amiss, the Seth couple travelled to Kolhapur, where they learned that the trio had cheated several other investors as well, under the same pretext of high returns on forex investments. The total fraud amount reportedly exceeds ₹5 crore.

Following this, Meenal Seth filed a complaint at the Kasturba Marg police station. After verification, police booked Deshbhushan, Pritam, and Rajendra for criminal breach of trust, cheating, and other relevant charges. All three went absconding soon after the case was registered.

While the search continued, police finally managed to arrest Rajendra Nerlikar on Saturday after tracking him for nearly two years. During interrogation, he reportedly confessed to luring multiple people in Mumbai and Kolhapur into forex trading investments and cheating them.

Police are now intensifying efforts to trace and arrest the remaining two accused.