Maharashtra Police on Thursday arrested a Thane resident for allegedly defrauding him of Rs 47.69 lakh.
The accused, Zakir Kazi, 50, a resident of Rabodi, Thane, lures people to invest money in his business of selling second-hand cars and gives them 50 per cent profit on their investment. At first he paid money to the investors, but gradually he defaulted.
He was arrested based on the complaint filed by 45-year-old Wajidli Syed, a resident of Rabodi.
Syed had invested more than 2.2 million in Kazi’s Falkis Enterprises. However, Qazi allegedly neglected to sign any agreement with Syed. Zakir Qazi’s son Adnan Qazi is also an accused in the case.
When the Qazis failed to pay the profit money on time, Syed asked them to return their money. The father-son then gave him a check as security, says the FIR.
In 2023, Zakir Qazi and his son became uncontactable. Syed somehow found out that the father-son duo was staying at Zakir Qazi’s parents’ house.
Syed later discovers that the father-son duo duped many people.
Then in July 2023, Syed approached the Rabodi police and filed an FIR along with other victimized investors alleging that Zakir Qazi, his son and his other associates had defrauded Rs 47.69 lakh between January 2021 and July 2023.
“We have arrested (Zakir) Qazi from Mumbra on Thursday and will produce him in court on Friday. He has been charged with investment fraud under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the MPID (Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors) Act. Three fraud cases have been filed against him at the Rabodi police station. His son has been found wanted in the current case,” said sub-inspector Lahu Rathod of Rabodi police station.