Mumbai: This seductress was in the regular habit of using her feminine wiles to ensnare unsuspecting men in her web of deception, leaving them high and dry in the process. This however was a means to a very specific end -- tying the knot. On Thursday, however Lady Justice came calling at her doorstep. Kandivli police arrested 30-year-old Priya Ahire for allegedly swindling entrepreneurs, and luring them into loans by offering rock bottom interest rates.
According to the Kandivli police, Ahire, a Mira Road resident, was running a fraudulent financial firm, flamboyantly named Kothari Associate Finance Firm. After renting a posh office space for the firm in Raghuleela Mall, Kandivli (West), Ahire published advertisements offering loans at miraculously low interest rates. This was part of her elaborate scheme to lure aspiring entrepreneurs, who were in need of financial support.
Investigating police officers revealed that the complainant, JB Nagar resident Satyanarayan Pandey, had approached Ahire late last year, seeking a loan of Rs 2 crore for his fledgling business. Ahire was reportedly extremely forthcoming, and confirmed his loan immediately, asking him to pay Rs 1.39 lakh as a processing fee.
"Pandey applied for the loan and also submitted his documents. Ahire, who assumed the false identity of Ashwini Kothari during the interactions with Pandey, convinced him that he was eligible for the loan," said Hareshwar Pimple, senior police inspector at the Kandivli police station.
It was March by the time realisation dawned on Pandey that his loan was yet to be sanctioned and the promised amount sanctioned to his account. He made a trip to the office, only to find its doors firmly shut. It was anybody's guess that he had been duped. A distraught Pandey approached the Kandivli police, and registered a complaint against Ahire, who had gone under the radar at the time. On receiving a tip off on Thursday that she had returned to her Mira Road residence, police officers promptly knocked on her door, arrest warrant in hand.
Sources at the Kandivli Police station said that Ahire had already been married twice, and would devise these elaborate schemes to swindle people so she could amass the fortune required for her third marriage. "Ahire often lured customers by offering sexual favours. An attractive woman with polished English and great communication skills, she found it easy to seduce male clients," said the officer.
Several cases have been registered against Ahire. "Till date, six complainants have come forward. Collectively, Ahire has duped all her victims of a sum of Rs 25 lakh. We suspect that there are others whom she deceived as well, and the total amount could exceed Rs 2 crore," added the officer. Ahire was presented before the Borivli Metropolitan Magistrate Court yesterday, where she has remanded to police custody till July 7.
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