PUNE: Senior citizens here are increasingly falling prey to scamsters and are losing money they had saved for old age support.
The latest victim is a 61-year-old resident of Bhavani Peth, who lost Rs25 lakh to three men in an attempt to buy two flats. The trio duped him by impersonating as owners of a building under construction.
The elderly man, Zainula Jehangir (61), lodged a complaint with the Kondhwa police on Friday evening. Following this, the police booked the three suspects.
Sub-inspector G B Kulal, who is investigating the case, said Jehangir is a car driver and has worked with some prominent citizens of Pune. He lives in a humble accommodation at Bhavani Peth.
Jehangir had saved money to buy an apartment and decided to shift to Kondhwa from Bhavani Peth in 2015. He is originally from Karnataka, but has been staying in Pune for many years. He even sold his farm land in Karnataka to collect more money to purchase the apartment, Kulal said.
In 2015, Jehangir told his nephew about his wish to buy an apartment in Kondhwa. His nephew introduced Jehangir to two 'real estate developers'.
"The suspects took the elderly man to a construction site in Kondhwa and claimed that they were constructing the building. They promised to sell two flats to Jehangir in it," he said.
The suspects then demanded Rs25 lakh as a token payment. Jehangir paid part of the amount in cash and the rest in cheques.
After receiving Rs 25 lakh, the suspects told Jehangir that they had initiated the process of property registration and other legal works to transfer the apartments to him, Kulal said.
About a month ago, Jehangir visited the site and went up to the two apartments the suspects had 'booked' for him. However, the salesman at the site informed Jehangir that the property belonged to some other builder. They also told him that the two apartments had been sold to some other persons, Kulal added.
Jehangir realized that he had been duped and approached the police. Kulal said the three suspects absconded after cheating Jehangir.
"It is suspected that the three men have duped other persons also. Our probe is on," he said.
The police had in April launched a cell to look into the senior citizens' grievances. The cell accepts complaints from the elderly citizens and an offence is registered if a case is serious. The citizens can directly visit the cell with their complaints, call the helpline or approach the nearest local police station with their issues.
The latest victim is a 61-year-old resident of Bhavani Peth, who lost Rs25 lakh to three men in an attempt to buy two flats. The trio duped him by impersonating as owners of a building under construction.
The elderly man, Zainula Jehangir (61), lodged a complaint with the Kondhwa police on Friday evening. Following this, the police booked the three suspects.
Sub-inspector G B Kulal, who is investigating the case, said Jehangir is a car driver and has worked with some prominent citizens of Pune. He lives in a humble accommodation at Bhavani Peth.
Jehangir had saved money to buy an apartment and decided to shift to Kondhwa from Bhavani Peth in 2015. He is originally from Karnataka, but has been staying in Pune for many years. He even sold his farm land in Karnataka to collect more money to purchase the apartment, Kulal said.
In 2015, Jehangir told his nephew about his wish to buy an apartment in Kondhwa. His nephew introduced Jehangir to two 'real estate developers'.
"The suspects took the elderly man to a construction site in Kondhwa and claimed that they were constructing the building. They promised to sell two flats to Jehangir in it," he said.
The suspects then demanded Rs25 lakh as a token payment. Jehangir paid part of the amount in cash and the rest in cheques.
After receiving Rs 25 lakh, the suspects told Jehangir that they had initiated the process of property registration and other legal works to transfer the apartments to him, Kulal said.
About a month ago, Jehangir visited the site and went up to the two apartments the suspects had 'booked' for him. However, the salesman at the site informed Jehangir that the property belonged to some other builder. They also told him that the two apartments had been sold to some other persons, Kulal added.
Jehangir realized that he had been duped and approached the police. Kulal said the three suspects absconded after cheating Jehangir.
"It is suspected that the three men have duped other persons also. Our probe is on," he said.
The police had in April launched a cell to look into the senior citizens' grievances. The cell accepts complaints from the elderly citizens and an offence is registered if a case is serious. The citizens can directly visit the cell with their complaints, call the helpline or approach the nearest local police station with their issues.
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