Pune: Warje Malwadi police on Friday registered an FIR against a Kolhapur-based man for cheating a city-based publisher and his partner of Rs 1.4 crore by promising them contracts for corporate social responsibility (CSR)-funded projects.The 51-year-old publisher had lodged a complaint stating that the cheating had been taking place since July last year, and when he tried to get his money back, the suspect threatened to implicate him in a false case.The complainant has been running a publishing company with his partner since 2007, Mahesh Bolkotgi, senior inspector of Warje Police, said, adding that the firm undertakes printing and binding of educational books and supplies material for govt-related work.“The complainant and his business partner met with the suspect at an eatery in Warje through a retired teacher on July 2, 2025. The suspect claimed to have been running an organisation and had access to education-related govt projects,” the officer said.The suspect also claimed that he had been appointed secretary of a Maharashtra-level CSR fund committee and allegedly offered to arrange Rs 15 crore in CSR funding for the complainant and his partner. He also insisted that, to receive the funds, publishers must establish a new organisation.“He told them that the project involved the distribution of self-study and examination practice kits to Standard X students and it had been approved under a CSR initiative. He allegedly promised them substantial profits and claimed to have good connections with ministers and government officials,” Bolkotgi said.“The complainant and his partner established a new organisation to receive the CSR funds as per the suspect’s demand. The complainant and his partner were then asked to deposit funds into the suspect’s bank account as commission for the project. They ended up transferring Rs 1.4 crore to the suspect’s bank account. They took loans and arranged funds by mortgaging their properties,” Bolkotgi said.However, the suspect failed to provide further details about the project and repeatedly postponed meetings. The police investigations are underway.
