Pune, 18th September 2026: Baner police have arrested a caretaker woman, her son and daughter-in-law for allegedly cheating an 82-year-old woman of assets worth around ₹1.95 crore. The accused allegedly withdrew ₹1.45 crore from her bank accounts and stole around 85 tolas of gold and five kilograms of silver jewellery, collectively valued at about ₹50 lakh.
The arrested accused have been identified as Madhavi Shishikant Pawar, her son Joshua Shishikant Pawar and daughter-in-law Bhagyashree Joshua Pawar. A case was registered based on a complaint filed by Ketan Pandit Khandekar, 47, a resident of Yogi Park in Baner. Police said the alleged fraud took place between February 2026 and September 15, 2026.
According to police, Khandekar’s 82-year-old mother had worked as a paediatrician and now stays at home due to her age. Khandekar appointed Madhavi Pawar as her caretaker in September 2024. Police said she initially took care of the elderly woman and gradually gained the trust of the family.
After a development agreement was signed for Khandekar’s ancestral property in the Deccan area, large amounts of money were deposited into bank accounts. Police allege that Pawar later got her name added as a joint account holder in some of the accounts by giving various reasons.
The complaint alleges that the accused took Khandekar and his mother to banks by threatening them with false criminal cases, imprisonment and harm to their lives. They allegedly forced them to withdraw money from different bank accounts.
Police said the investigation found that around ₹1.45 crore was withdrawn from the elderly woman’s accounts. The complaint also alleges that the accused stole around 85 tolas of gold jewellery and other valuables, along with five kilograms of silver jewellery, worth approximately ₹50 lakh.
The accused allegedly pressured Khandekar and his mother in recent days to make a will transferring their property and bank assets in the accused persons’ names, according to the complaint.
Police are investigating the alleged financial transactions, property-related pressure and the missing jewellery.
Police said an examination of the bank statements showed several transactions involving Joshua Pawar. According to the complaint, Joshua, who had previously worked as an autorickshaw driver, allegedly used money obtained through the fraud to purchase two-wheelers and four-wheelers.
The Baner police are investigating the transactions and other assets allegedly acquired using the disputed funds.
