Satara Businessman Duped Of ₹16 Lakh By Woman On Pretext Of Marriage

A young woman, presenting herself as the owner of Pooja Masala, allegedly duped Akash Deepak Sonmale, a Satara-based businessman, of Rs. 16 lakh, luring him into a deceptive marriage scheme.

Initiating trust in 2019, Pooja Rathod persuaded Akash to invest Rs. 1 lakh in her spice venture, transitioning their professional association into a personal one with an engagement proposal. However, Pooja recurrently deferred the wedding, attributing it to business setbacks while leveraging the engagement to nurture trust.

Akash involved his brother-in-law for investing Rs. 10 lakh

Responding to Pooja's insistence, Akash involved his brother-in-law, who infused Rs. 10 lakh into Pooja's company. Additionally, Akash contributed Rs. 5 lakh and gold ornaments to the arrangement. Despite persistent marriage pleas, Pooja continued the delays, compelling Akash to pursue the retrieval of money and gold for the past year. Frustrated by Pooja's reluctance, Akash lodged a complaint with Satara city police on a Sunday evening.

Prompted by the complaint, city police probed the case, officially registering charges against Pooja Rathod. However, upon discovering the filed case, Pooja purportedly vanished from Satara. The police are actively conducting a search as they intensify efforts in their ongoing investigation into the alleged fraudulent activities.