In a startling case of fraud and intimidation, the Bhandup Police have registered a case against four individuals, including the complainant's wife, for allegedly cheating a 49-year-old man of Rs1.73 crore under the pretext of loan processing, threats of arrest, and fake police and court cases.
According to the FIR, the victim, Vishal Ashok Rode, a resident of Rustomjee Bella, LBS Marg, Bhandup (West), was allegedly harassed, threatened, and extorted by his wife Poonam Rode and her accomplices Sachin Yelavi, Suhas Pawar, and Kishor Pawar over a period of several years.
Rode, who lost his job at Garware Polyester in August 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, began facing financial difficulties. In September 2019, his wife introduced him to her friend Sachin Yelavi and an acquaintance Suhas Pawar, claiming they were businessmen who could help secure a loan.
Fake Loan Promises
Rode had purchased a flat in 2012 for Rs1.23 crore, financed by a Rs98 lakh loan from Bajaj Finance, later transferred to LIC Housing Finance in 2017. In November 2019, Poonam claimed a businessman named Mhatre, known to Suhas Pawar, could provide a Rs3 crore loan through a firm named "Bright Vision Small Finance Bank" in Ghatkopar, where Pawar was allegedly a partner.
Under pressure from his wife and the others, Rode paid a total of Rs6.92 lakh as "processing fees" for the loan Rs4.76 lakh to Yelavi and Rs2.16 lakh to the so-called bank account. However, the loan never materialized. The accused cited personal issues and delays, deflecting Rode’s concerns.
Things took a darker turn when a woman named Varsha Salunkhe, allegedly an assistant at Pawar’s office, began private chats with Rode via WhatsApp. Explicit images were exchanged, after which threats of police complaints were made. Rode was told that Varsha’s husband was filing a case at the Andheri Police Station.
In a state of panic, he was allegedly coerced into paying Rs8.25 lakh between December 2020 and January 2021, supposedly to settle the matter with police officials. Yelavi and Pawar allegedly deleted all WhatsApp chats from Rode’s phone and assured him the matter was closed.
But soon, they claimed a complaint was now being filed at the Ghatkopar Police Station and demanded another Rs7.09 lakh to suppress the case.
Emotional Blackmail and Threats
According to the FIR, Poonam began emotionally blackmailing Rode, threatening suicide if he didn’t comply. He eventually paid Rs6.63 lakh more when Yelavi claimed that Varsha had died by suicide and that her suicide note named Rode. Fearing arrest, he continued to pay.
Further, the accused allegedly forced Rode to take a loan with pre-paid EMIs worth Rs18 lakh from a person named Shaikh. They also extracted another Rs20.37 lakh for alleged municipal documentation fees. Claiming Suhas Pawar's Rs9 crore was seized by the Crime Branch in a chit fund scam, they took Rs2 lakh more to “help recover the funds.”
Pawar and Yelavi allegedly told Rode that they had used Rs1.20 crore out of the recovered funds to make a "One Time Settlement" on his housing loan. When Rode questioned this, he was threatened with fake legal cases. He was shown fabricated invoices bearing his PAN details, with headers like "PAY-E COURT," and was forced to send money to multiple bank accounts via OTPs he received, totaling Rs34.02 lakh between June 9, 2023, and June 13, 2025.
Yelavi also sent case numbers via WhatsApp, claiming cyber complaints had been filed by lenders against Rode. In April 2025, Rode started receiving calls from unknown numbers. He was told by Yelavi that PSI Kishor Pawar from Vartak Estate Police Station was preparing to arrest him in connection with another suicide case involving Varsha’s husband and daughter. Under this threat, he paid Rs7.79 lakh more.
After joining TCS in August 2021, Rode alleges that from July 2022 onwards, his wife Poonam forcibly transferred Rs2.20 lakh monthly from his salary account to her own, totaling Rs82.23 lakh so far.
She, along with Yelavi and Pawar, also forced him to sign documents under duress. Ultimately, Rode approached the Bhandup police and filed a complaint accusing the trio and his own wife of criminal intimidation, blackmail, cheating, and financial fraud amounting to Rs1.73 crore.
Police Action Initiated
Based on his detailed complaint, the Bhandup police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiated an investigation.
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