Disha Patani's father, promised of government post, duped of Rs 25 lakh

PTC News Desk: A group of five individuals allegedly duped Bollywood actor Disha Patani's father, Jagdish Singh Patani, of Rs 25 lakh by promising him a high-ranking post in a government commission, police said.

Jagdish Singh Patani, a retired deputy superintendent of police, filed an FIR in the case at Bareilly Kotwali Police Station on Friday evening.

The Kotwali police station in-charge DK Sharma stated that a case had been filed against Shivendra Pratap Singh, Diwakar Garg, Acharya Jayaprakash from Juna Akhara, Preeti Garg, and one unidentified individual for defrauding, criminal intimidation, and extortion.

"Efforts are underway to arrest the accused and take strict action," Sharma said.

Jagdish Singh Patani, who lives in Bareilly's Civil Lines, claims that Shivendra Pratap Singh, whom he knew personally, introduced him to Diwakar Garg and Acharya Jayaprakash. They claimed to have excellent political ties and assured Patani that they could help him get a job as a chairman, vice-chairman, or a comparable prominent post in a government commission.

The group allegedly took Rs 25 lakh from Jagdish Patani, including Rs 5 lakh in cash and Rs 20 lakh in money transfers to three bank accounts.

After three months of no progress, the accused informed Patani that the money would be returned with interest. Patani demanded his money back, and that's when they began to threaten him and behave aggressively, according to police officials.

Patani further claimed that the accused misled him by introducing one of his accomplices as an "officer on special duty" named Himanshu to back up their fraudulent claims of political connections.

Patani filed a police report after suspecting that the incident was part of a broader scheme.