Pune: The Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of Pune Police has arrested Vishwajeet Jadhav (41), son-in-law of the owner of Hotel Vaishali, for allegedly securing a fraudulent ₹5 crore loan by mortgaging a flat registered in his wife's name.
The fraud took place between December 7, 2022, and October 3, 2023, and came to light after a complaint was filed by Nikita Jagannath Shetty (34), a resident of Shivajinagar, Pune.
According to the police, Jadhav conspired with Ravi Pardeshi of RR Finance and Rajesh Chaudhary, the manager of Kotak Mahindra Bank (Yerawada branch), to obtain the loan. Without the complainant’s consent, he:
Forged her signatures on loan application documents.
Used counterfeit seals to fabricate mortgage documents.
Falsely pledged the complainant’s flat as loan collateral.
Following loan approval, the bank disbursed ₹5 crore, of which Jadhav transferred ₹4.93 crore into his Axis Bank account, defrauding the complainant.
Jadhav, along with Pardeshi and Chaudhary, had earlier applied for anticipatory bail, but the Bombay High Court rejected their plea, after which they went into hiding. Jadhav was arrested and later produced before the court.
Police Investigation and Custody
The police have sought custody of Jadhav to investigate:
The utilization of the ₹4.93 crore loan amount.
Recovery of fraudulent funds.
Identification of any accomplices.
Seizure of forged seals used in document falsification.
Assistant Police Inspector A.B. Gaikwad, leading the investigation, informed the court that Jadhav has a criminal record and is already facing charges under fraud, domestic violence, rape, and arms act.
Considering the severity of the charges and the possibility of more fraud cases linked to Jadhav, the police sought further interrogation, following which the court granted two days of police custody.