Panvel: Police has arrested a couple who cheated several people for lakhs of rupees in pretext of supplying goods and groceries, clothes, and household goods at discounted rates. Nawin Dhanaji Panchal (52) and Vidya Nawin Panchal (45), accused arrested from Alandi in Pune and have sent to police custody till October 31 by the court.
According to FPJ report, police information revealed that accused used to rent flats in various societies. Initially they gained trust of residents by supplying groceries and household items at wholesale prices. Once they gained trust and credibility, they lured customers to start a grocery business together, collecting large sums of money. After a Panvel resident was defrauded of Rs 5 lakh, the couple turned off their phones and fled their rented home without providing the promised goods or refunding the money.
A police case was registered, and using technical intelligence, authorities tracked the pair to Alandi in Pune. On October 27, a team led by API Aniruddha Gije and PSI Harshal Rajput, under the supervision of Senior Police Inspector Gajanan Ghadge, apprehended the accused in a planned operation. Senior Police Inspector Gajanan Ghadge of Panvel Taluka Police Station stated that the Panchal couple, previously booked for similar scams in Nagpur and Kalyan, used multiple mobile numbers, email IDs, and bank accounts to defraud people across different cities. As they were absconding previously, police suspect there may be more victims and urge anyone who may have been defrauded to contact their nearest police station.