Woman held for Rs 1.36 crore deposit fraud on 19 people in Bhayandar

Police in the Naigaon police station area of Bhayandar have arrested a woman accused of cheating 19 people of nearly Rs 1 crore 36 lakh 81 thousand by getting them to pay heavy deposits linked to construction sites in the Naigaon and Palghar areas. The woman was arrested on September 4, 2026.

According to police, the woman had offered people a deal: if they paid a heavy deposit for construction sites in the Naigaon and Palghar area, they would get a house on rent in return. She also assured them that she would herself pay the rent for that house. Believing they stood to gain from the scheme, several people trusted her and handed over large sums of money.

After receiving the money, the woman did pay the rent for the first few months, which further increased people's trust in her. But after some time, she suddenly stopped paying the rent. When people contacted her to ask about their money, they found she began stalling. As the matter grew serious, the victims filed a police complaint, after which it emerged that the accused woman had gone absconding.

After starting the investigation, Naigaon police searched for the woman in several directions. The probe found that a total of 19 people in the Mira-Bhayandar area had been cheated of Rs 1 crore 36 lakh 81 thousand. Naigaon police then intensified the investigation and arrested the accused woman on September 4, 2026. A case has been registered under crime register number 486/2026 under sections 318(4) and 316(2) of the BNS. Further investigation is being carried out by Naigaon police.

Police have appealed to people to thoroughly verify the identity of the person concerned, property documents, agreements and money transactions before paying a heavy deposit, house rent or investing in any attractive scheme, and not to hand over large sums of money to anyone based solely on attractive promises.