Mumbai: The Vikhroli police have registered an FIR against thirteen individuals on charges of alleged committing cheating and forgery. The accused, Vivek Singh and his associates assured Akash Gagat, 34, of a job in the railways or a bank and collected Rs 36.21 lakh from him.

According to the FIR, the complainant, Akash Gagat, resides in Vikhroli East and is employed at a private company. In 2020, Gagat was introduced to Vivek Singh through his schoolmate, Pawan Singh. Vivek Singh claimed he knew a prominent businessman, Santosh Pandey, from Worli, and suggested that if Gagat invested money in Pandey's business, he would earn good returns.

However, Vivek Singh asked Gagat to transfer the investment amount into his account instead of Pandey’s, citing potential income tax issues for Pandey. Gagat spoke with Pandey over the phone and agreed to invest.

From July 2020 to February 2021, Gagat transferred Rs 3.62 lakh from his ICICI Bank account to the bank accounts of Vivek Singh, Vishnu Singh, and Shailesh Singh. The accused Vivesh Singh returned Rs 1.01 lakh to Gagat as profit during this period.

In December 2021, Vivek Singh claimed to Gagat that Santosh Pandey was a prominent businessman with connections in Delhi who could help him secure a job as a ticket collector in the railways or as a manager at the State Bank of India. For this, Singh demanded Rs 37 lakh.

After consulting with his family, Gagat agreed to the offer. Singh insisted that the amount be paid in cash, warning that an online transfer might result in his account being frozen. When Gagat refused to pay in cash, Singh instructed him to transfer the amount to the accounts of his friends and relatives.

Between December 2021 and October 2022, Gagat transferred a total of Rs 36.21 lakh to thirteen different bank accounts, including those of Vivesh Singh, Shailendra Singh, Vishnu Singh, Mangesh Singh, Anil Chavan, Dhananjay Baranwala, Sumit Shinde, Ajit Chaurasia, Ashwini, Aman Chaurasia, Abhishek Singh, Manoj Singh, and Sai Durga Traders. Gagat met some of the accused in person and spoke with others over the phone to confirm the transfers.

In December 2022, when Gagat inquired about the promised job, Vivek Singh allegedly provided him with a fake offer letter on railway letterhead bearing the official logo. When Gagat followed up about the job, Singh and his associates avoided him. Singh and his associates later handed over additional documents, which Gagat eventually realised were forged.

Upon cross-verifying the documents, Gagat discovered they were fake and realised he had been scammed. He then filed a complaint with the police. The police have registered a case against 13 individuals who received money from Gagat.

The case has been filed under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document as genuine), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

A police officer stated, "During the investigation, it has been clarified that Santosh Singh was not involved in the matter, and his business has not been identified yet. Mangesh Singh is the main accused, he is an advocate, while Vivek Singh works in the police department. We have issued notices to Mangesh Singh and Vivek Singh, and the investigation is ongoing."