Nashik (Correspondent): A man posing as the personal assistant (PA) of Chief Secretary Bhushan Gagrani and claiming to have connections with influential people has been arrested for defrauding three to four unemployed youths of lakhs of rupees. The accused, identified as Prakash Dhondu Kadam, a resident of Badlapur, was apprehended by the Anti-Gunda Squad near Vinchur Phata in Lasalgaon (Taluka Niphad) on Thursday (27th) afternoon.
Under the pretense of securing jobs, Kadam allegedly scammed victims of a whopping ₹71.50 lakh. A complaint regarding the fraud was lodged by Sanket Shivaji Kotkar at the Panchavati Police Station on February 7. The fraudulent activities were committed in 2023. Since the filing of the case, Kadam had been on the run, hiding in districts like Kolhapur, Solapur, Ahilyanagar, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Using both human intelligence and technical expertise, Anti-Gunda Squad officer Dnyaneshwar Mohite tracked down Kadam’s whereabouts.
On Thursday (27th), a trap was set at Vinchur Phata. The operation was carried out by police personnel Vijay Suryavanshi, Bhushan Sonawane, Ganesh Bhagwat, and Rajesh Rathod. Local sources confirmed the description of the accused, revealing that Kadam frequently visited the Lasalgaon area. Upon receiving this information, the police laid a trap and successfully nabbed him. He was then handed over to Panchavati Police.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik, Deputy Commissioner (Crime) Prashant Bachhav, and ACP (Crime) Sandeep Mitke.
