In the name of offering ‘work from home’ opportunities for women, a man from Maharashtra has allegedly cheated over 8,000 women in Belagavi, siphoning off more than ₹12 crore before fleeing his rented house and office. Many victims, including some influential women who invested lakhs, have now approached the police after realising they were duped.
On Sunday, several women complained to the City Police Commissioner, stating that a man, who identified himself as Ajay Patil from Solapur, had promised them monthly earnings for packing incense sticks at home. He reportedly collected between ₹2,500 and ₹5,000 from each woman to create an ID and instructed every recruit to bring in two more participants using a chain-marketing model. However, police later learned that his real name is Babasaheb Kolekar from Solapur.
The victims said the scheme followed a typical multi-level marketing pattern targeting women’s self-help groups. Each woman paid an upfront fee between ₹2,500 and ₹5,000, allegedly as rent for autorickshaws delivering incense sticks to their homes for packing. They were assured a monthly income of ₹2,500 and higher earnings for enrolling others. When the promised payments failed to arrive, the women banded together to seek justice.
Laxmi Kamble, one of the victims, said, “After my husband passed away, I was looking for a work-from-home job to support my family. I joined this scheme after hearing about it from other women. The authorities must take this case seriously and ensure the accused is arrested and our money returned.”
Govind Lamani, an autorickshaw driver, added, “The scheme’s head had hired six to seven autos to deliver incense sticks door-to-door. Even my wife was cheated after investing ₹20,000 in cash.”
