Belagavi: Fraudster claims to be jawan stays with family for one year

Belagavi: A resident of Chandgad, who had befriended a woman and her family in Belagavi through Facebook claiming to be an Army officer, managed to stay in their house for one year and cheated them of lakhs of rupees.

The family spent lakhs of rupees on him and also bought him a new motorbike during his stay in their house. But his demands only kept increasing and recently, he beat them up for not buying him a car. Only when the family filed a complaint with the police did they come to know that he had cheated them and was not an army officer, but an unemployed man from the neighbouring Chandgad town.

The accused, Shubham Desai (32), made friends with Anita Bhatkande of Wadgaon on Facebook, claiming himself to be working at Kargil. He got close to all members of Anita's family, including her husband and son. After several months of chatting and phone calls between him and members of Anita's family, he could take all of them into confidence. He then came to Bhatkande's house in Wadgaon and stayed with them as one of their family members.

Once in a while, he would go to Chandgad or some other place assuring the family, which owns a vehicle spareparts shop in Belagavi, that he was going out on official assignments. As Anita’s father too was an ex-serviceman, the accused grew closer to the family.

When Desai confided with the family that he faced severe financial problems as he had not got his salary for several months, Bhatkandes got him a new bike and also doled out lakhs of rupees over time.