Two held for duping people in Maharashtra, Gujarat through phone calls by posing as women

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Police have arrested two men for allegedly cheating 19 people in Maharashtra and Gujarat by posing as women on phone calls and seeking money from them, an official said on Wednesday.

The accused used to target jewellers, sweet and medical shop owners as well as blood banks, Mira Bhayander-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police's senior inspector Aviraj Kurhade said.

A jeweller from Kashimira area complained to police that one of the accused had called him by posing as a woman doctor who wanted to purchase gold jewelley from his shop.

The accused offered to pay Rs 2 lakh as advance for the gold and asked the jeweller to come to a hospital to collect it. The accused also asked the jeweller to get currency notes worth Rs 2 lakh in smaller denominations, in exchange of the same amount to be paid to him, for hospital related transactions, the official said.

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When the jeweller arrived at the hospital carrying Rs 2 lakh cash in different denominations, the accused collected the money from him and then asked him to go inside to take measurement of a gold bangle for the doctor and then take Rs 2 lakh from him, he said.

As the jeweller went inside the hospital, the accused allegedly fled from the spot with the cash, the official said.

The jeweller subsequently lodged a complaint with local police.

The MBVV crime branch while probing the case worked on various leads and finally zeroed-in on the accused - Manish Ambekar and Anwar Ali Kadir Sheikh - and arrested them from Virar (Palghar) and Alibaug (Raigad) on Monday, the official said.

The police seized three mobile phones and Rs 9,550 cash from their possession, he said.

During their interrogation, it came to light that they had cheated 19 people from Thane, Palghar, Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur in Maharashtra and Vapi, Valsad and Surat in Gujarat, the official said.

Fourteen offences were already registered against them at various police stations in Thane, Palghar, Mumbai and Pune, he added.

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