Loan shark booked for rape, also faces laundering case

MUMBAI: A Thane-based jeweller who gave a Rs 60,000 loan to a boutique owner in 2012 and raped her while demanding lakhs of rupees in interest since then, is likely to be booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as police want to build a watertight case.



Kasarvadavli police registered a case of rape and cheating against Bharat Jain (45) on April 26 after the boutique owner lodged a complaint. The woman said she had already paid Rs 12 lakh in interest, but the jeweller was demanding Rs 20 lakh more.

She told the police that she approached the jeweller in 2012 on learning that he gave loans, as she was buying a flat and was falling short of money to get its possession. She took Rs 60,000 from Jain and agreed to pay Rs 45,000 as interest every month. “According to her complaint, Jain took a few post-dated cheques from her. She told us that Jain kept her flat’s documents with him,” said an officer. Last year, she approached the police seeking help to get the original documents of her house from Jain. The police intervened and she got her the documents.

The woman told police that her son is doing his graduation in Jaipur. “Since I am alone at home, Jain came to my home several times and raped me,” she told police. An officer, who is part of the probe, said, “Our team went to Jain’s house to arrest him, but he was not there. Besides, he has shut his shop and there is no information about his whereabouts,” said an officer.

The police have already booked Jain under the Maharashtra Money Lending (Regulation) Act, 2014. “We will find out details about other people to whom he has given loans and the interest he charged. We have to see if there are some more women who have been sexually exploited by Jain,” the officer said adding that they would will also analyse his financial transactions and see how much money he received and where the money went.