The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked IPS officer Bhagyashree Navtake on charges of forgery and criminal conspiracy, as announced on Thursday. The charges are related to her involvement in an alleged ₹1,200 crore scam connected to the Jalgaon-based Bhaichand Hirachand Raisoni Credit Society, where issues of forgery and improper documentation were identified.
Navtake has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 120-B, 466, 474, and 201. She led the investigation into the scam from 2020 to 2022 while serving as the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the Economic Offences Wing.
The Pune police initiated action against Navtake in August following a CID report that highlighted procedural lapses in the investigation and implicated other unidentified individuals, as directed by the Maharashtra Home Department. During her tenure, Navtake was responsible for the Special Investigation Team that looked into cases related to the Bhaichand Hirachand Raisoni Credit Society in Pune.
The CID probe uncovered serious irregularities, including the registration of three cases under one crime in a single day and securing complainants’ signatures without their presence. In light of these findings, the Maharashtra Home Department ordered the Pune Police to file a case against Navtake.
The alleged scam, which dates back to 2015, involved cheating numerous individuals with promises of attractive interest rates on fixed deposits. Jitendra Kandare, a key suspect in the ₹1,200 crore scam, was arrested by Pune City Police in June 2021, and investigations are ongoing.
The case was transferred to the CBI in 2020, which subsequently registered a case of corruption and cheating against directors of a Delhi-based company for defrauding 12 banks in connection with this scam.
