A shocking case of fraud has surfaced from Mumbai’s Nahur area, where two women allegedly impersonated officials of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and duped 16 people of more than ₹1.53 crore by promising them affordable homes in MMRDA colonies.
Following a formal complaint, Bhandup police have registered an FIR against the two accused women under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code. The accused have been identified as Neeta Ankush Saraikar and Lakshmi Kisan Bande. Police officials confirmed that both women will be summoned for questioning soon.
According to the police, the complaint was filed by 60-year-old Meera Sudanna Kamble, one of the victims. As per the FIR, between January and November 2023, Neeta Saraikar and Lakshmi Bande lured Kamble and 15 other women by promising them low-cost housing in MMRDA colonies located in Vikhroli East and Bhandup.
Trusting the offer, many of the victims took loans from banks and handed over the funds to the accused. Lakshmi Bande had reportedly introduced Saraikar as an officer in MMRDA’s chawl department, assuring them that she could secure them affordable flats soon.
The victims were then taken to Lakshmi Bande alias Akka’s residence, where they were promised homes in the Karvenagar area of Kanjurmarg for ₹8 lakh each. To build trust, the accused allegedly issued two post-dated cheques and took photographs and signatures of the victims on ₹100 stamp paper. However, the victims were never given a copy of the agreement, nor were they handed possession of the promised homes. Furthermore, the money was not refunded.
Instead, the accused allegedly misappropriated a total of ₹1,53,75,500 by breaching the victims’ trust and committing fraud.
Bhandup police have launched an investigation and are in the process of verifying further details.