Four students from Pune college cheat high-end Mumbai club

The four had scammed the club in November last year, too. Pic/Twitter

Three college students were arrested, and one detained by the Vakola police for allegedly cheating the dance club Toy Room at the five-star Hyatt at Vakola in Santacruz East. The police said all accused are college students from Pune and cheated the hotel by sending them fake screenshots of the amount paid for advance booking through a mobile phone payment application.

On Valentine's Day, the accused came along with 19 people, including 13 girls, and were promptly arrested. The alleged accused are Omkar Sanjay Darekar, 21, Aarya Anna Saheb Patil, 23, Amar Amol Tamhane, 22, and Aditya Yadav, 20, all students of a Pune college, who used their mobile phones to send fake screenshots to the club. The Vakola police registered the FIR for cheating amounting to Rs 9.20 lakh and arrested three of them.

According to police officers, the complainant is manager Rahul Prabhu, who approached the cops after he found discrepancies in the bank account statements. Manager Prabhu told the cops that the Toy Room is located inside the Hyatt hotel and is run by the Delhi-based Campbell Lounges and Beverages Private Limited. The club is open on weekends, and guests book tables through phone calls and make advance payments through mobile phone payment applications.

A police officer said, "Once the advance payment is done, the club asks to send the screenshot of the payment. Once the guest sends the screenshot, the club confirms entry. A few days ago, the finance manager of the company found discrepancies in the bank accounts and discovered fake screenshots from November 2023. The company also found that the money had not been deposited in the bank account. These screenshots were sent from four different mobile phones for advance table booking."

A police officer said, "The club staff kept a watch on all four mobile numbers. On Valentine's Day, February 14, one of the accused again booked a table at the Toy Room from the same mobile number and sent a fake screenshot of payment to the club. They had booked the table for 19 people, including 13 girls." The accused had booked a table four times in the past and had sent fake screenshots of the payment to the club.

API Sudhakar Khaje of Vakola police station said, "On Valentine's Day, the accused came to the club with 13 girls, and the club informed us. We rushed to the club, caught them and brought them to the police station for investigation. We arrested three of them and detained one student. All are college students, and we are looking for the mastermind." Senior Inspector Prakash Khandekar of Vakola police station said, "We are also checking if they have cheated any other club."