Naresh Sharma, a long-time resident of the United States of America, was defrauded of Rs 1.87 crore by close acquaintances in Bhopal. The Kolar Road police have registered a criminal case against Pragati Srivastava and Nishith Tripathi for forgery, fraud, and criminal conspiracy following an investigation directed by senior police officials. The conspiracy was uncovered after the victim filed a formal complaint detailing the systematic exploitation of his trust. Sharma, a US citizen for 30 years, returned to Bhopal in 2018 to manage personal affairs and perform rituals for his late wife. Lacking a residence in the city, he requested assistance from his nephew, Nishith Tripathi, to find a suitable property. During this period, Tripathi introduced Sharma to Pragati Srivastava. Srivastava quickly gained the victim’s trust, referring to him as ‘father’ and positioning herself as a daughter figure to facilitate the fraud. The first major act of deception involved a property at Singapore Villa, House number 93. The purchase price was finalised at Rs 88.45 lakh, with Sharma providing all funds through bank transfers and cash. During the registration process at the sub-registrar office in Govindpura, Srivastava manipulated the digital draft to name herself as the legal owner while designating Sharma as a witness. To evade suspicion, she paid Sharma Rs 5,000 in monthly rent for several months, successfully maintaining the illusion that he was the actual owner.

 

The fraudulent activities extended to the purchase of a vehicle. In January 2023, Sharma booked a Toyota Highlander worth approximately Rs 18 lakh to assist with the transport of his ailing sister. Although the invoice was in Sharma’s name and the payments were made from his accounts, Srivastava manipulated the RTO documents to transfer the vehicle’s ownership to herself. Srivastava’s exploitation grew more brazen as she began leveraging alleged political connections. She claimed to have influence over high-ranking Government officials and promised to secure Sharma a position as a Governor or the Chairman of a Medical Board. She demanded Rs 2 crore from him, claiming the money was required for the approval of a Rs 300 crore fund for a medical university. When Sharma eventually distanced himself from her due to inappropriate demands, she threatened to frame him in a false rape case. The fraud was fully exposed in January 2024 when an advocate, Akash Shukla, contacted Sharma to reveal the true state of his properties. Shukla provided Sharma with a copy of the original registry, proving that Srivastava had usurped ownership. The investigation also unearthed a betrayal by the nephew, Nishith Tripathi. In 2019, Sharma had purchased a property in Arera Colony, House number E-3/337, through Tripathi. Taking advantage of Sharma’s inability to visit India during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tripathi used forged documents to list himself as a 50 per cent co-owner of the property.