Man cheated of Rs 20 lakh over loan in Thane district; one booked

The police in Maharashtra’s Thane district have registered a case after a 38-year-old electrician alleged that he was cheated of Rs 20 lakh by a man who promised to help him set up a hospital, an official said on Friday. Pankaj Prabhakar Kangane, a resident of Badlapur East, told the police that accused Nitin Balu Bansode approached him in 2021 with a proposal to set up a hospital as the medical infrastructure was stressed then due to the COVID pandemic. Bansode allegedly promised to facilitate a loan of Rs 25 crore from a trust for the hospital project. On the pretext of the processing fee, he collected Rs 20 lakh from Kangane, who sold his flat to raise the money, the official said citing the FIR.

When the promised loan was never secured, and the accused failed to return his Rs 20 lakh despite follow-ups, Kangane approached the police. Bansode was then booked for cheating, the official said.