Nagpur: A 30-year-old swindler from Kapil Nagar staged his disappearance to evade creditors hounding him over unpaid dues. Nishanti Manwatkar, who allegedly lured dozens of investors with promises of high returns from a fictitious tourism venture, was tracked down and arrested by a team of Kapil Nagar police station under senior inspector Satish Ade on Friday.Manwatkar’s wife, Ankita, had filed a missing person report on April 19 at Kapil Nagar police station. The couple resided in a rented house next to Yadav Dharmakata in Kapil Nagar. Manwatkar left behind a suicide note that read: “I am leaving my family and going far away. If I do not contact anyone in 15 days, then it should be considered that I have died. I owe a lot of money to many people and I cannot afford to lose it. I get calls and messages from people every day. I am very worried about money. If I die, only I will be responsible for it, no one else.”Unbeknownst to his family, Manwatkar had allegedly siphoned off approximately Rs10 lakh from gullible investors, including friends and relatives, by peddling non-existent tourism projects offering 20-30% monthly returns. He squandered the funds on online gambling, losing nearly Rs25 lakh in high-stakes games. As repayment deadlines loomed and irate victims bombarded him for refund, he planned the vanishing act, said police. The breakthrough came after tip-off from an informant to the Missing Squad of the Kapil Nagar police station. Under senior inspector Ade, sub-inspector Shankar Nilpatrawar, head constable Akshay Sahare, and constable Nilesh Pawar swung into action. They conducted discreet surveillance and checked CCTV footages to locate Manwatkar who was hiding in plain sight in the city limits. He was taken into custody on Friday, and his fabricated story crumbled under interrogation. Preliminary investigation revealed Manwatkar’s deeper criminal entanglements. A cheating case was registered against him at Pachpaoli police station for the Rs 10 lakh fraud. Shockingly, he emerged as the prime accused in another case filed on August 15 this year at Manmad police station in Nashik Rural. Details about of these offences have not been revealed, but sources hint at similar investment scams targeting vulnerable locals. Manwatkar has been remanded to custody of Pachpaoli police station for further questioning. “This is a classic case of desperation masked as tragedy,” said Ade.
