Three booked for duping businessman of Rs 32 lakh with promise of CSR funds in Thane district

A case has been registered against three persons from Andhra Pradesh for allegedly duping a businessman in Maharashtra’s Thane district of Rs 32 lakh on the pretext of securing CSR funds for him, police said on Sunday.

Based on a complaint by the businessman who runs an education services firm, the Kalyan police on Friday registered a case under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code for forgery, cheating, criminal breach of trust and other charges, an official said.

The fraud took place between April and June 2017, he said.

The accused, Ratanlal Venu Gopalrao and Sahukari Sunit Shekar, both hailing from Visakhapatnam and Shravani Ramesh Reddy, a resident of Mumbai, promised to secure CSR funds for the complainant, the official said.

He said the trio allegedly produced documents purported to be from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a prominent automobile company. They posed as representatives of the RBI and offered to manage CSR funds and donations worth Rs 5 crore for the victim.

The official said the accused demanded Rs 32 lakh from the businessman to initiate the process of securing CSR funds. However, they failed to deliver the promised funds or donations and did not return the money.

The matter is being investigated, he said.