Father-daughter duo who duped retired pilot of Rs 91 lakh nabbed after 3 years

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The Versova police on Monday, arrested a father-daughter duo from Gujarat for allegedly duping a 71-year-old retired pilot of Air India to the tune of Rs 91 lakh in 2019.

According to the police, in 2015 the complainant had approached ‘Sasta Online Trading Investment Company' after seeing an advertisement in a reputed newspaper, which promised handsome returns on their investments.

The complainant received regular messages about the profit he made on his investment. However, when the complainant asked for the amount, the accused refused to pay. In 2019, he approached the police and registered a complaint against Balkrishnan Mankandan, 48, and his daughter Sarannya, 26, who is currently preparing for the upcoming IAS examination.

Accused land in cop net

The address of the accused was found to be fake and their mobile numbers were unreachable, the police said. In February, the police traced the duo to Kolkata. When the team of officers reached Kolkata, the accused were found to be in Gujarat, said an officer from Versova police station.

Many cases against family

The police said that Mankandan's wife and son are also accused in similar cases and were arrested by the Coimbatore police. They were also a part of the same company. "At least five such fake investment trading companies were run by the accused and we assume that the family has duped several people across the country, after studying their modus operandi," an officer said.

‘Come forward, file plaint'

"We appeal to readers to come forward if they have also been victims of the family," said a police officer from Versova police station. "The duo was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. They were nabbed by our officer API Sohan Kadam and his team from Gujarat, and were brought to Mumbai on Tuesday morning. They have been remanded in police custody by the court," said another officer.