Beed, March 11 A man from the Beed district of Maharashtra has been arrested for allegedly defrauding several women by posing as a government official and promising them benefits under various government schemes, an official said on Wednesday.
Police said the accused, Gorakshanath Navnath Panhalkar, is heavily dependent on alcohol and would often ask his victims to send money to the QR codes of the bars where he was drinking.
Panhalkar (35), a resident of Nalwandi in Patoda taluka, would introduce himself as "Jadhav Saheb from the Social Welfare Department" and tell women that items such as sewing machines, grain grinders, and utensil kits had been sanctioned for them under government schemes.
He then demanded Rs 2,500 as transportation charges for delivering the kits, the official said.
A woman filed a complaint at the Amalner police station last month, saying Panhalkar had defrauded her and four others. After working on several leads, police arrested the accused from Jalna on Tuesday, the official said.
"Panhalkar defrauded women to fund his alcohol addiction. To avoid suspicion, he never asked victims to transfer money directly to his personal account. Instead, he would urge them to send money to the QR codes of the bars where he was drinking or paan stalls," the official added.