‘Work-from-home’ scam: Maharashtra man allegedly dupes over 8,000 women in Belagavi of Rs 12 crore
Belagavi: In a major fraud, a man from Maharashtra allegedly swindled more than 8,000 women in Belagavi of over Rs 12 crore by promising them ‘work-from-home’ jobs, before fleeing from his rented home and office in Belagavi.
A group of women recently approached the Belagavi Police Commissioner alleging that they were cheated by a man who promised them steady earnings through a work-from-home scheme involving the packing of agarbattis (incense sticks), The New Indian Express reported on Monday.
The accused, who initially identified himself as Ajay Patil, is said to have collected between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 from each woman under the pretext of creating an employment ID, while also requiring each participant to recruit two more women in what appears to be a chain-marketing model. Investigations later revealed that his real name is Babasaheb Kolekar, a native of Solapur, who has since absconded.
Victims quoted in the news report said the fraudulent scheme primarily targeted women associated with self-help groups. Each participant was asked to pay between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000, allegedly as a “rental charge” for autorickshaws that would deliver incense sticks to their homes for packing and later collection.
The women were promised a monthly income of Rs 2,500 for completing the packaging work from home. They were further enticed with assurances of higher earnings if they recruited additional members into the scheme. However, when the promised payments never materialised, several women began questioning the organisers and eventually came together to file complaints with the authorities.
Laxmi Kamble, one of the victims of the scam, lost her husband recently and was seeking a work-from-home opportunity to support her family. She learned about the purported job scheme through other women in her community and joined it in the hope of earning a livelihood. “Many women got enrolled in this scheme due to mouth-to-mouth publicity. The police commissioner should take this case seriously, arrest the accused who fled to Maharashtra and help to return our money,” TNIE quoted her as saying.
Govind Lamani, an autorickshaw driver, said the mastermind of the scheme had hired six to seven autos to deliver incense sticks to women’s homes as part of the purported work-from-home arrangement. He added that his own wife had fallen victim to the fraud, losing Rs 20,000 in cash.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
