Conman dupes resident of Rs 2 lakh, arrested in Mankhurd

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Mumbai police arrested a 39-year-old conman for duping a south Mumbai resident of Rs 2 lakh by selling him fake US dollars. The accused identified as Mohammad Mehtab Bilal Shaikh alias Lala, a native of Mednipore district of West Bengal, was arrested by MRA Marg police from Lallubhai compound in Mankhurd.

The victim Atul Anand Kachre (32) works in Bellard Estate area in south Mumbai and was approached by Lala who sought his help with money exchange from US dollars to Indian currency; "Lala told Kachare that he wanted to exchange USD 20 to Indian currency. Kachare guided him to a money exchanger who gave Lala Rs 13 thousand for USD 20 on February 2, 2019," said an officer attached to MRA Marg police station.

According to a police officer, "After this exchange, Lala approached Kachre again and told him that his relatives have visited India and they have wads of US dollars and he could earn a huge commission by exchanging it only on the condition that he pays him Rs. 1.90 lakh. Lala also managed to convince Kachre to meet him in Vashi where he was given a packet of money in exchange of Indian currency."

"Kachre felt cheated when he opened the packet which contained only blank papers and when he looked around for Lala, he already fled the place," added the officer. After consulting his relatives, Kachre approached the Vashi police station where he narrated the whole incident and a zero FIR was registered on February 19, 2019. Also, the case was transferred to MRA Marg police station.

The zonal DCP Abhishek Trimukhe formed a team with PSI Swapnil Shinde, Head Constable Vinod Kamble, Vilas Khadye and others. The senior inspector Sanjay Kamble was asked to monitor the case. "The accused had switched off his cellphone but we got the IMEI number of his handset and traced the SIM card details. Later, they retrieved the call detail record (CDR) and tracked down his whereabouts," said another officer.

"We also enquired about different conmen who duped people using the same modus operandi in the past and we received a tip-off about Lala's movement near Mankhurd where he was arrested on March 22 evening," said the officer. Lala has been booked under section 420 and 34 of Indian Penal Code. On Saturday, the accused was produced before the court and was remanded with police custody.

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