Couple running realty firm booked for cheating bizman

A couple running a real estate firm in Thane district of Maharashtra has been booked for allegedly cheating a 71-year-old businessman to the tune of Rs 28.5 crore, police said on Thursday.

The complainant, Vijay Agrawal, who is an aluminium trader in neighbouring Mumbai, said he came in contact with the accused - Sanjay Bhalerao and his wife Pratima Bhalerao - through a common friend in 2011.

The accused asked Agrawal to invest in their real estate business by promising lucrative returns, a police spokesperson said.

They allegedly fabricated documents to show Agrawal as the owner of some flats in their venture but later sold those properties, causing a loss of around Rs 28.59 crore to the complainant, she said.

Based on the complaint, the couple was booked on Wednesday under various Indian Penal Code sections for cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery and criminal conspiracy, she said.

No arrest was made so far, the spokesperson said, adding that a probe was underway.