A 48-year-old hotelier from Thane has allegedly been defrauded of Rs 13 lakh by a man posing as an excise department official, who falsely promised to secure a liquor sale license for his establishment, police said on Sunday.

According to PTI reports, the accused approached the victim, who runs a hotel in the Kalwa area of Thane, in January last year. Claiming to be an employee of the Maharashtra state excise department in Nashik, he assured the hotelier that he could procure the necessary permit for him in exchange for a fee. Believing the offer to be genuine, the hotelier paid the accused Rs 13 lakh over multiple transactions.