CBI books Maharashtra IPS for forgery in ₹1,200 crore scam case

The bureaucrat has been charged under sections 120-B, 466, 474, and 201 of the Indian Penal Code against Navtake, ANI reported.

What are the accusations against IPS Navtake?

According to the agency, Navtake had led the investigation into an alleged ₹1,200 crore scam related to the Jalgaon-based Bhaichand Hirachand Raisoni Credit Society from 2020 to 2022.

The Pune police registered the first case against Navtake in August, based on a CID report that flagged procedural lapses in the scam investigation and other unidentified persons, on directions from the Maharashtra Home Department.

Navtake was heading the Special Investigation Team as DCP (economic offence wing) in 2021-21 to probe cases related to the alleged scam involving Bhaichand Hirachand Raisoni Credit Society in the Pune district.

The aforementioned CID probe revealed that Navtake, the investigating officer in the case, was involved in instances of forgery such as registering three cases under one crime in a single day and obtaining complainants’ signatures without their presence.

Following the CID report, the Maharashtra Home Department directed the Pune Police to register a case.

₹1200 cr BHR scam?

The alleged scam, dating back to 2015, involved the alleged cheating of numerous individuals through promises of attractive interest on fixed deposits.

Jitendra Kandare, a prime suspect in a scam of nearly ₹1,200 crore linked to the Bhaichand Hirachand Raisoni (BHR) State Cooperative Credit Society, was arrested by the Pune City Police in June 2021 and the investigation is still ongoing.

The scam case was transferred to CBI in 2020 and the central agency registered a case of corruption and cheating against the directors of a Delhi-based company for defrauding 12 banks.