Mumbai: Businessman duped of Rs 2 lakh, one arrested

Around 9 am on August 28, Seth got a call from the accused, who posed as IAS officer Kumar and alleged that due to an accident his daughter is admitted to Breach Candy hospital and he urgently needs Rs 1.4 lakh.

“Seth offered to come to the hospital and hand him the cash. But the caller allegedly claimed that he would send one of his representative to his Marine Drive house and collect the cash. Despite the caller asking for Rs 1.4 lakh, the businessman, who believed that he would need more money for his daughter, handed over additional Rs 60,000,” said an official. The incident came to light the same day when the complainant decided to visit the hospital. “When he asked for IAS officer Sujeet Kumar, he realised that he had fallen prey to some scam. He called up the collector’s office in Botad following which it was confirmed that he had been duped,” said an investigator. Seth reached Marine Drive police station and submitted a complaint application on August 28, that was later converted into an FIR in the first week of September. The police then started scrutinising CCTV footage of the building, along with the call data records of the accused. They were later tipped off about Abdul Karim Shaikh.

“We came to know that Shaikh is a resident of Dongri and he had come to receive the cash on the mastermind’s behalf, as we had obtained the CCTV footage. We laid a trap in a hotel near Dongri following which he was caught,” said an officer. During questioning, Shaikh who works as a hotel agent revealed that he had met the mastermind three years ago, as he was looking for a hotel.

On August 28, he called Shaikh and asked him to collect Rs 2 lakh from Seth’s residence for which he was given Rs 2,000 as commission. “Shaikh claims that after collecting the cash, he handed it over to the mastermind near Shalimar Hotel at Pydhonie the same day,” said an officer. The police said that they are trying to locate the mastermind. “We went through his IMEI details and learnt that he has been using eight different SIM cards to dupe people,” said an investigator.

The police have booked the accused under sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code.

He was produced in court on Tuesday and remanded in police custody till October 25.