Jamtara, Jharkhand – A retired railway employee, Mukesh Rawani, was allegedly defrauded of Rs89 lakh by a group of six individuals posing as the owners of a house in Jamtara. The elaborate property scam has led to multiple arrests, according to police reports released on Tuesday.
Rawani, a resident of Chitra in Deoghar district, had been looking to buy a house in Jamtara when he came across a property near the railway station. Unbeknownst to him, the real owner, Sameer Sarkar, has been living in Kolkata for years.
Taking advantage of this, a group of fraudsters impersonated Sarkar and his family, convincing Rawani to transfer the large sum under the pretense of selling the property.
Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Mehta revealed, “Mukesh Rawani transferred Rs89 lakh to these individuals. Once they began delaying the registration, he filed a complaint, triggering our investigation.”
The six arrested have been identified as Ghanshyam Mahato, Vikram Mahato, Panchananda Das, Tumpa Sarkhel, Parimal Bauri, and Jisu Sarkar.
According to the SP, Ghanshyam and Vikram orchestrated the scheme. Panchananda acted as the fake property owner, with Tumpa and Parimal posing as his daughter-in-law and son. Jisu was introduced as the grandson.
Rawani transferred Rs84 lakh to Tumpa’s bank account and Rs5 lakh to Jisu’s. The money was later distributed among the fraudsters: Panchananda received Rs15.75 lakh, Ghanshyam Rs27.76 lakh, Vikram Rs5.85 lakh, and Parimal Rs5.60 lakh.
The investigation continues as police work to recover the stolen funds and determine if the group is linked to other scams.
