A 52-year-old funding banker lodged a criticism with the Mumbai police, alleging that he was duped by two individuals, an advocate and an artwork supplier, of Rs 17.9 crore whereas buying work.
Within the FIR registered on Monday, the complainant alleged that he had ordered 11 work from the 2 accused; nevertheless, the 2 colluded and offered him duplicate work by well-known artists, claiming them to be authentic.
In keeping with police officers, the funding banker has been recognized as Puneet Madanlal Bhatia and as per the FIR, he has been employed at a capital funding firm for the previous 15 years.
The complainant in his assertion to police has stated that he met an advocate (an accused within the case) in January 2022 at a good friend’s get together. There, the 2 spoke about artwork and work throughout which the advocate informed him about an artwork supplier (second accused within the case).
“From then, we developed a great relationship and had been in contact with one another. We might typically speak about artwork and portray and on January 13, 2022, he despatched me footage of some work and claimed that these work had been well-known within the Nineteen Seventies. He additional provided to assist me discover good work,” the funding banker stated in his assertion to police.
On January 23, 2022, the complainant alleged that the lawyer once more despatched him a picture of a portray made by Manjit Bawa. The advocate knowledgeable him that the portray belonged to a retired IAS officer in Bhopal and he was prepared to promote it at Rs 6.75 crore.
Subsequently, the advocate despatched him just a few extra footage of work made by F N Souza and stated that it was for Rs 1.75 crore. “Classifying the work as A plus, the advocate began insisting me to purchase these work and stated that Rs 6.75 crore and Rs 1.75 crore had been the ultimate worth. On January 26, 2022, I knowledgeable him to finalise the deal for the 2 work,” learn the assertion.
In a while January 30, 2022, the advocate contacted the funding banker once more asking him to switch the cash to the artwork supplier by RTGS technique, as he needed to go and purchase the portray made by Souza from a Madhya Pradesh resident. “Because the advocate and the artwork supplier confirmed urgency and stored insisting on making the funds, the complainant paid for each the work. The 2 work had been later delivered at his Gurgaon residence between March and April 2022,” stated an officer from Tardeo police station.
The related paperwork had been additionally handed over to him, stated police. Between January and Could 2022, the funding banker purchased 9 different work from the duo. “For 11 work, I paid Rs 17.9 crore to the artwork supplier on the behest of the advocate. All of the funds had been made by cheques and on-line cost,” learn the assertion of the complainant.
Bhatia, nevertheless, learnt about being duped by the duo solely after he confirmed the work to his buddies. “My buddies informed me that the work are pretend and never made by the unique artists, so I probed additional and likewise inquired with the retired IAS officer, who informed me that the data of him promoting or having such a portray, was incorrect,” Bhatia stated in his assertion to police.
For additional scrutiny the complainant despatched the work and its paperwork to an organization in Santacruz and when the consultants there knowledgeable that the work and its paperwork weren’t real, he then confronted the advocate and demanded his cash. As he gave obscure solutions and didn’t return the cash, the funding banker then approached Tardeo police station and lodged a criticism.
A case was registered on Monday underneath related sections of conspiracy, dishonest, felony breach of belief and forgery.Senior police inspector Vivek Shende of Tardeo police station confirmed that the FIR has been registered by Bhatia. He stated, “An advocate and an artwork supplier are booked within the case however our investigation is underway and nobody has been arrested as but.”
Calls and messages to Bhatia didn’t elicit any response.
