Belagavi: A case of large-scale fraud has emerged from Belagavi, where a Maharashtra-based man allegedly cheated thousands of women by promising them work-from-home opportunities. The accused reportedly collected around ₹12 crore from nearly 8,000 women before disappearing without a trace.

According to police sources, the fraudster, identified as Babasaheb Kolekar from Solapur, had introduced himself to victims as “Ajay Patil.” He promised women that they could earn money by packing incense sticks (agarbattis) from home. To join the scheme, each woman was asked to pay between ₹2,500 and ₹5,000 as a registration and logistics fee.

The scam followed a chain-marketing model, with participants encouraged to recruit two more women each to increase their income. Many women from self-help groups and poor families, looking for supplemental income, were lured into the trap. Victims said that they were promised monthly earnings of ₹2,500 by packing products supplied to them.

However, after collecting huge sums, the accused abruptly stopped communication and vanished. The promised incense packets never arrived, and none of the participants received their expected payment.

Dozens of defrauded women, led by victims like Lakshmi Kamble, approached the Belagavi police station on Sunday, demanding justice. “My husband passed away recently, and I was searching for a work-from-home job to support my family. I was told about this incense-packing job by other women. We trusted him, but he took our money and disappeared,” Kamble said emotionally.

The women urged police to trace the accused, who is believed to have fled to Maharashtra. They demanded that their hard-earned money be returned and that strict action be taken against those responsible.

Police have registered a case and launched an investigation. Authorities suspect that the accused operated through a fake recruitment network targeting rural and semi-urban women under the guise of “home-based employment.” The incident has raised serious questions about the rise of online and chain-based job scams, prompting calls for greater public awareness and tighter regulation of freelance and home-based employment offers.