Couple Booked For Duping Over 300 Shopkeepers In Pimpri Chinchwad & Pune

Police have booked couple suspect Ganesh Shankar Borse and his wife for cheating over 300 shopkeepers within Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune city over the past few months via online fraud. In the last two days, the police have registered around 10 cases against the couple.

As per information, another complaint by a Rahatani shopkeeper has been lodged with the Wakad police, which has booked the suspect and his wife under relevant IPC sections relating to cheating, forgery and common intention. According to the police, the couple are jobless and have been shifting shopkeepers from one shop to another, including coconut sellers, food shops, and e-commerce stores.

In June this year, a pizza shop employee cheated the manager of a store by changing the UPI code of the store to a code associated with his account. The manager lost Rs 18 lakh.

Following the complaint, Borse’s mobile number was placed under surveillance.

The number was disconnected but police traced the phone’s network and area of operation and found the Wifi connection belonging to the accused. This led to his arrest. Borse’s wife has not been arrested yet.

According to the police, the couple reached the shop of a shopkeeper in Rahatani and bought Rs 7,700 worth of garments.

Borse then told the victim that he needed Rs 3,300 in cash and promised to transfer Rs 11,000 online through NEFT. Borse also gave the victim his phone number and asked him to call the number if he had any problems with the transaction. However, the victim did not get the money and realized that he had been duped.

The police officer further explained the couple’s modus operandi. Borse used a dummy NEFT application which he opened before the shopkeepers and filled in the necessary details. He then claimed to transfer the money through the application, which showed that the money had been transferred, but the beneficiary never got the money.

Shreyas Vange