Mumbai: Cops bust gang that cheated bizmen, 3 held

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The Mumbai police's crime branch claimed to have busted an inter-state gang by arresting three men who allegedly duped businessmen of several lakhs by arranging meetings in posh hotels under the pretext of offering them business opportunities, a police officer said on Wednesday. The gang members used to contact potential targets and convince them to come for a ‘business' meeting to clinch attractive deals.

"The accused are Majib Abdul Khan alias Mannu, 44, a resident of Uttar Pradesh; Mayank Pradeep Sharma alias Laddu, 22; a resident of Delhi; and Akash Dwarkaprasad Agrawal alias Kabir, 19, from Thane," the officer said, adding that some more people were involved in the crime. They were arrested by Unit 8 of the Mumbai Crime Branch, he said.

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The fraud came to light when a businessman from Mumbai was allegedly cheated by the gang Rs 21 lakh on February 27, the officer said. "One of the gang members contacted the businessman saying he works in the film business and required Rs 21 lakh to send actors abroad. He called the businessman to a five-star hotel on February 27 and took him to a room.

"After collecting money, the accused pretended to have received a call and walked out of the room," he said, quoting the FIR. Subsequently, the accused stopped taking the bizman's calls. Realising that he was cheated, the victim lodged a complaint with the Vakola police station. Crime branch sleuths traced the trio using technical analysis and traditional investigation. "Interrogation unravelled the network of the gang. We are looking for other members," the officer said.