Bareilly: Jagdish Singh Patani, retired deputy SP and father of actress Disha Patani, was allegedly defrauded of Rs 25 lakh by a group of five individuals who promised him a high-ranking position in a government commission, police here said on Friday.
An FIR was registered at Bareilly Kotwali police station on Friday evening. Kotwali police station in-charge D K Sharma said, "A case has been registered against Shivendra Pratap Singh, Diwakar Garg, Acharya Jayaprakash from Juna Akhara, Preeti Garg, and one unidentified person for cheating, criminal intimidation, and extortion."
"Efforts are underway to arrest the accused and take strict action," Sharma added.
Jagdish Patani, a resident of Bareilly's Civil Lines area, alleged that Shivendra Pratap Singh, whom he knew personally, introduced him to Diwakar Garg and Acharya Jayaprakash, according to the complaint.
The accused claimed to have strong political connections and assured Patani of securing a position as chairman, vice-chairman, or a similar prestigious post in a government commission.
After gaining Patani's trust, the group allegedly took Rs 25 lakh from him -- Rs 5 lakh in cash and Rs 20 lakh through transfers to three different bank accounts. When no progress was made over three months, the accused promised to return the money with interest, the complaint stated.
However, when Patani demanded his money back, they began issuing threats and behaving aggressively, police said. Patani further alleged that the conmen misled him by introducing an accomplice as an "officer on special duty" named Himanshu to reinforce their false claims of political connections.
Suspecting a larger fraud, he lodged a complaint with the police, leading to the registration of the FIR.
