Two Customs officers and a police constable were arrested on Thursday for allegedly duping a businessman of ₹80 lakh on the pretext of settling his GST evasion case.
The accused have been identified as Lalit Basare, a Customs superintendent; Neelkamal Singh, a Customs assistant commissioner; and Jayesh Kadam, a police constable from Karjat Government Railway Police (GRP).
The complainant, Ali Asgar Najmuddhin Patanwala, a resident of Agripada, had approached the GRP in August 2022, alleging that he was duped by the three officials.
Patanwala told the police that he had been running a business in the city for the past several years. In August 2022, he received a call from Kadam, who introduced himself as an officer from the GRP. Kadam told Patanwala that he had received a complaint against him for GST evasion and that he could help him settle the matter.
Patanwala agreed to meet Kadam and the three officials at a restaurant in Dadar. At the restaurant, the officials told Patanwala that they could settle the GST evasion case against him for ₹80 lakh. Patanwala paid the money to the officials, but the case was not settled.
Patanwala then approached the GRP and lodged a complaint against the three officials. The GRP registered a case and arrested the three officials on Thursday.
The arrested officials have been produced before a magistrate court and remanded in police custody till July 1.
The GRP is further investigating the case.
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