Investment Scam Accused Nabbed After 6 Yrs From Kochi

The Bombay high court on Monday dismissed an 18-year-old rape survivor's plea for permission to terminate her 32-week pregnancy, after a medical board confirmed that the baby was likely to be born alive and the procedure could endanger both the foetus' and mother's health.

- Karuna Nidhi

NAVI MUMBAI: A man who allegedly duped investors from Raigad district of ₹1.78 crore in 2019, and had been on the run since, was arrested from Kochi International Airport on Monday. The arrest was made after the Local Crime Branch of the Raigad Police issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against the accused.

The accused is identified as Riyaz Ahmed Kasim Bandarkar, 47, a resident of Kharikpada in Murud tehsil of Raigad. Police said he began a financial enterprise called Tijaraha in Murud, Raigad. "Locals were convinced to invest money as he promised them high returns," an official said. For a few months, he sent the investors' profits, before he started defaulting. When investors confronted him, he fled to Dubai in 2019.

On August 3, 2024, the Murud police booked Bandarkar under sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code, and under provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, 1999. Given the seriousness of the crime, the superintendent of police (SP), Somnath Gharge, transferred the investigation to the Local Crime Branch in Raigad-Alibag.