Man duped of Rs 37 lakh by couple on promise of setting up gym

Thane: A couple allegedly cheated a 40-year-old man from Dombivli in Maharashtra's Thane district by taking Rs 37 lakh from him on the promise of starting a gym, police said on Saturday.

The victim works as a manager at an automobile showroom, an official of Naupada police station said.

Based on the complaint lodged by him, a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 34 (common intention) was registered against Mandar Mukund Sabnis and his wife Varsha.

"The victim used to regularly go to a gym at Dombivli, where he came in contact with the accused in 2021. Sabnis told him about their plan to start a gym and sought financial help from the victim. The accused told him that the gym project, which was to come up in Thane and Dombivli, would cost Rs 1.50 crore," the official said.

Starting 2021, the couple took money to the tune of Rs 37 lakh from the victim for the proposed gym, which was never set up. When the victim asked them about it, they gave evasive replies to him, following which he approached the police and lodged a complaint.