Pune Police on Thursday arrested three persons for duping a businessman of Rs 5 lakh by posing as a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government. According to the police, the accused persons duped a 54-year-old local businessman by enticing him with high-quality fake currency notes. “They posed as a UP Minister, MLA and their support staff,” an officer of Pune Police said.
The racket was busted by the Wanovadi division of Pune police after the 54-year-old filed a complaint against the gang. The complainant said the gang showed him a demonstration of how to make counterfeit currency notes.
“The accused offered to give the complainant, a businessman, three times the face value of the counterfeit notes in exchange for Rs 5 lakh,” Balasaheb Pathare, the officer-in-charge, Wanovadi Police Station, said, adding that after receiving Rs 5 lakh from the businessman, they vanished. The officer further informed that of the gang of five members, three were arrested while a manhunt is underway for the other two members.
A case against the gang members, identified as Rupali Raut, Sanjay Kumar Pandey, Vikas Kumar Rawat, Sameer alias Vishal and Ashok Patil, was registered, the police said. Further details are awaited.