3 booked for duping man by promising poll win for wife

Three people have been booked by Thane police in Maharashtra for allegedly duping a man of Rs 20 lakh by promising to get his wife elected to the Lok Sabha, an official said on Thursday.

The complainant, Vidyasagar Chavan, an employee of the town planning department, said while he was discussing with a friend at Thane collectorate's canteen in March if his wife could contest the Lok Sabha poll, one of the accused, Nachiket Jadhav, who was sitting nearby, offered to help.

Later, Jadhav and his aide Arvind Sharma took Chavan to a self-styled godman, identified as Gurudev Maharaj, in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh, saying the latter would perform a ritual to help his wife get elected, an official at Kapurbawdi police station here said.

The accused allegedly demanded some amount as advance and Rs 5 crore after the election, he said, adding that Chavan claimed he paid Rs 20 lakh to them.

Chavan's wife later filled her nomination form from Thane Lok Sabha seat for the election held in April. She contested as an Independent candidate but lost the poll by securing only 1,188 votes, the official said.

When Chavan sought a refund of his money, the accused allegedly threatened him with dire consequences, he said.

Based on Chavan's complaint, the police on Wednesday registered offences against Jadhav, Sharma and the godman under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Jadhav is a resident of Ghansoli area in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, while Sharma hails from Chandigarh, he said, adding that no arrest has been made so far.