Mumbai Crime: Woman loses Rs 5 lakh to fake note exchange scheme

A CCTV grab shows the victim meeting the main accused at the Malad restaurant

In the first such case in the city, the Dindoshi police have arrested five members of a gang for cheating a woman of Rs 5 lakh on the pretext of giving her 10 per cent extra in notes of smaller denominations in return for Rs 2,000 notes.

As part of their modus operandi, the gang would take the money from victims and flee after making some or the other excuse. The main accused Arvind, who is in all probability the mastermind of the racket, is still at large.

The arrested accused have been identified as Umar Khan, Faroque Shaikh, Yunus Shaikh, Raj Shaikh, and Vijay Somnath. According to the police, Ayesha Khan, 34, came to know about the scheme and got in touch with the main accused. On May 26, she took Rs 2 lakh from her husband and R3 lakh from a friend to get them exchanged. Arvind asked her to meet him at a restaurant in Malad, where she gave him the cash. However, he fled on the pretext of getting the notes of smaller denomination from his vehicle parked outside.

She and her husband filed a complaint with the Dindoshi police. The cops then made Ayesha pose as a different customer and trapped one of the members of the gang. This led to the arrest of the other four. Speaking to mid-day, a police officer said, "A case has been registered under section 420 of IPC. The accused were sent to judicial custody for 14 days."

Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Man Held With 50 Fake Notes Worth Rs 1 Lakh

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