Man who duped Maha MLAs on promise of cabinet berths was in touch with 28 MLAs from many states
Nagpur (PTI): A man from Gujarat arrested by Nagpur police for allegedly taking money from three BJP MLAs in Maharashtra on the promise of ministerial berths in the Eknath Shinde-led government was in touch with 28 MLAs from many states, a senior official said on Saturday. He had been arrested by Delhi police in a similar case last year, the official said.
A resident of Morbi in Gujarat's Ahmedabad district, accused Neeraj Singh Rathod was taken into custody on Tuesday before being brought here.
Over the past three months, the police official said, Rathod got in touch with 28 MLAs from Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Delhi offering them ministerial berths for money and managed to con three of them.
Rathod called up the three MLAs by posing as the personal assistant to BJP president J P Nadda, he said. During the conversation, he also lied to his targets that the politician would be joining the call but it was Rathod who spoke in a different voice, the official said.
The official said Rathod cheated a BJP legislator from Delhi by offering him a role linked with the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the Centre's flagship housing scheme. He was arrested on the complaint of the MLA and got on bail in January this year, he said.
A case has been registered against Rathod under Sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), and 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
He has also been charged under section 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), another official said earlier, adding that during the preliminary probe, the police found that the owner of a mobile shop located near Rathod's house received money online.
Following the Supreme Court's ruling on issues related to the June 2022 split in the Shiv Sena, which gave a reprieve to the Eknath Shinde government, there was a buzz that a cabinet expansion could happen soon.
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Man jumps to death from 22nd floor of posh Noida society; depression suspected
Noida (PTI): A 37-year-old man allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the 22nd floor of a posh residential society in Sector 107 here, police said on Monday.
The incident took place on Sunday in Prateek Edifice Society under the jurisdiction of the Sector-39 police station. The deceased has been identified as Sajjal Mehrotra, a company director who lived in the society with his family.
"On Sunday afternoon, he jumped from the balcony of his flat on the 22nd floor," a police official said.
Family members and security guards rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead, police said, adding that no suicide note has been found.
Prima facie, the deceased was suffering from depression, officials said, adding that other aspects of the case are being investigated.
The body has been sent for post-mortem and further legal formalities are underway.
Police said the man got married about 10 years ago and is survived by his wife and two children. No complaint has been received from the family in connection with the incident.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
