A young man was promised investment in his business. Trusting that promise, the young man came from Karnataka to Maharashtra. Allegations arose that he was taken to multiple hotels there, held captive, and nearly two crore rupees was extorted from him. The incident occurred between December 15 and 18 last year. Based on the complaint, police investigated and arrested the accused three days ago. On Thursday, police informed the media about the incident.
Also Read | ‘Cracked my back, forced himself on me: Teen shooter accuses national coach of sexual assault
What exactly happened?
It has been learned that on December 15 last year, a phone call came to Shantikumar Shadak Sharappa Karder (31), a businessman from Shimoga, Karnataka. Introducing himself as Ankit Bapu Thombare, the caller told him that he wanted to invest in Shantikumar's business. After receiving the call, Shantikumar went to Thane, Maharashtra that same day. Trouble began after that.
Ankit and his associates showed guns and knives and extorted Shantikumar's company account net banking ID and password from him. After that, more than 2 crore rupees was transferred from that account in multiple transactions. Meanwhile, the accused kept him captive in multiple hotels between December 15 and 18. Finally, after gaining freedom, Shantikumar filed a complaint at Kashimira police station on January 2. Based on that complaint, police investigated and arrested Ankit on January 6.
Regarding the incident, Additional Police Commissioner Madan Ballal of the Crime Branch of Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Vihar police told the media on Thursday that police have arrested Ankit, a resident of Thane, on charges of financial fraud. The investigation revealed that police also found evidence of using a British phone number to conceal his identity. Additionally, an SUV car that was used to kidnap Shantikumar has also been seized.
