PUNE: A womans car driver was arrested on Wednesday, over one-and-a-half years after she passed away, for transferring Rs1.64 crore to his account after selling her investment shares by forging her signature.The driver also stole a laptop, a cellphone and some ornaments from her house, where she stayed alone, police said. Inspector Pramod Waghmare of the Samarth police said, "The driver, Ajay Rajaram Bhadakwad (30) of Sukhsagarnagar, withdrew the amount and bought a study centre for competitive exam aspirants, some land at his village in Solapur, an SUV and constructed a house in Solapur. We have initiated a process to seize all these assets."Waghmare said, "The woman (80) resided in New Nana Peth. She passed away in December 2021. Her 62-year-old nephew, a retired German police officer, returned a few months ago and checked her documents, including the shares she held jointly with him. The exercise revealed the drivers alleged fraud, following which he filed a complaint application with us a few months ago. We verified the case and registered an FIR on Wednesday."He said, "The deceaseds family owns many land parcels in the city, especially in and around Camp. All these properties are put up for rent. They were(are) a regular source of the deceased woman, alongwith her three sisters. Bhadakwad, a commerce graduate, worked part-time with a finance company before taking up the drivers job with the woman. He had a fair knowledge of shares and banking."The officer said, "Bhadakwad realised that the woman possessed high-value shares of a private finance company. He took advantage of her plight and executed the crime by forging her signatures and selling her shares. The money from the shares was transferred to the deceased womans account. Then he forged her signatures on her bank documents and transferred all the money to his account with a cooperative bank," Waghmare said.A case of theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and forgery is registered against the arrested driver, the police said.

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