Pune: Two women have allegedly deceived six people, extracting ₹65.5 lakh from them by falsely promising commercial and residential units in an under-construction building in exchange for investment in their real estate venture.

The complaint was lodged by Mehbub Abdulgani Shaikh, a 68-year-old resident of Camp, at Cantonment (Lashkar) Police Station. Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against Farhana Sadiq Qureshi and Hina Sadiq Qureshi, both residing in Bhimpura, Camp.

The fraudulent activities reportedly occurred between April 8, 2019, and February 2021.

As per the police report, the accused approached the complainant and his five relatives, encouraging them to invest in their construction business.

They assured the victims that they would receive permanent ownership of commercial or residential units in the upcoming building project as a return on their investment.

Believing their assurances, the complainant and his relatives invested a total of ₹65.5 lakh. However, despite their investment, they did not receive any property, and their demands for refunds were ignored.

When the victims asked for their money back, the accused issued cheques from various banks. These cheques, however, bounced due to insufficient funds in the accounts.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that Farhana Qureshi had relocated, leaving the complainants feeling deceived and betrayed.

The investigation is currently being led by Sub-Inspector Gujar from Lashkar Police Station.

Earlier in July, three individuals were arrested for using the name of a developer to obtain loans from two banks for a single flat. The fraud resulted in a loss of Rs 31.6 lakh.

The incident occurred between September 2023 and July 2024 in Alandi. Mahesh Kantilal Ganatra, a 44-year-old construction businessman from Lulla Nagar, Kondhwa, filed a complaint at the Alandi police station.