Pune: A hotelier in Mahabaleshwar, Satara district, was swindled out of ₹1 crore under the pretense of securing a wine shop license.

Hemant Balkrishna Salvi, the hotelier, was duped by nine individuals, including Shrikant Kolhapure, Additional Police Superintendent of the Pune Division, State Crime Investigation Department (CID). A case has been registered at the Wai police station in this regard.

On Monday (July 15), Devashree Mohite, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Economic Offences Wing, Pune Division, filed a complaint at the Wai police station regarding this incident.

The accused in this case include Shrikant Kolhapure, Hanumant Vishnudas Munde, Vivek Pandit, Nilesh Patel, Abhimanyu Dedage, Rajan Suryabhan Sonawane, Shakeel Haji Maqbool Syed, Mrs. Najma Shaikh, and Balu Puri.

According to the complaint, Shrikant Kolhapure, Hanumant Vishnudas Munde, and Vivek Pandit assured Hemant Balkrishna Salvi, a hotelier from Sabne Road, Mahabaleshwar, that they would secure a wine shop license for him.

They claimed that the entire process would cost ₹2.5 crore. Through intermediary Sanjay Bajirao Salunkhe, they collected ₹1.5 crore in cash and cheques from Salvi at various locations in Wai.

However, despite the payments, Salvi never received the promised license, realizing later that he had been defrauded.

Subsequently, Sanjay Salunkhe filed a complaint with the Additional Director General of Police, Pune. Following an investigation into the complaint, orders were issued to register a case.

Shrikant Kolhapure, Hanumant Munde, and seven others have been booked for conspiracy, falsifying records in the official vehicle logbook, and defrauding Hemant Salvi.