A female police officer was questioned for more than an hour on Monday by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on two fraud cases involving her husband, Purushottam Chavan. According to reports, the officer was called as a witness rather than an accused person. Her statement was not recorded on Monday, however, and she is anticipated to return for more interrogation.

The inquiry centers on claims that Purushottam Chavan and his friends cheated 20 people out of around ₹24.78 crore in Mumbai, Thane, and Pune by claiming to be offering government quota properties at a discount. Chavan and eleven other people were the targets of the first case the EOW had filed against them for planning this fraud. A second case was also brought against Chavan, Narayan Sawant, and Yashwant Pawar when a 48-year-old Surat-based businessman named Ravasahib Desai, who runs a textile company, complained.

The lawsuit alleges that Chavan and his friends defrauded businesspeople between March 2015 and April 2024 by offering government land at discounted prices and enabling Floor Space Index (FSI) rights under the municipal corporations of Thane and Pune. Additionally, they reportedly promised contracts to supply the Maharashtra Police Academy in Nashik with hoodies and T-shirts. According to reports, the defendants promised lucrative projects that never happened and took money straight into their bank accounts.

Chavan and his friends are accused of forging agreements and making them seem to be legitimately registered at the Thane-5 Sub-Registrar’s Office in order to make the transactions look genuine. Despite spending substantial amounts of money and receiving forged paperwork, the complainants never obtained the promised land or their money back.

In response to the allegation, the Colaba police filed a case against the defendant under many Indian Penal Code provisions, including criminal conspiracy, impersonation, forgery, and cheating. As they continue to learn more about the purported scam, officials anticipate recording more comments as part of their continuing investigation.