Actor Disha Patani's father duped of Rs 25 lakh

Jagdish Singh Patani, the father of actor Disha Patani and a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, was allegedly defrauded of Rs 25 lakh by a group of scammers who had promised him a high-ranking position in a government commission, police said on Friday.

An FIR has been registered in Uttar Pradesh against five individuals--Shivendra Pratap Singh, Diwakar Garg, Acharya Jayaprakash from Juna Akhara, Preeti Garg, and one unidentified person--on charges of cheating, criminal intimidation, and extortion, officials said.

Kotwali police station in-charge D K Sharma said, "Efforts are underway to arrest the accused and take strict action." 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.

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 ₹ 25 lakhs from him --" ₹ 5 lakhs in cash and ₹ 20 lakhs 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 "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.