Probe reveals he duped man of Rs 1 lakh in Jan this year using same modus operandi
Accused Samaarth Bhayanderkar
The Versova police have arrested a 39-year-old man for duping a woman of R35,000 on the pretext of renting out a flat to her posing as its owner. After the woman filed a complaint regarding this, the cops investigated the matter and found out that he was a repeat offender and had duped other people in Charkop and Amboli using the same modus operandi. He has been sent to police custody.
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Further probe revealed that Samaarth Bhayanderkar had posted an advertisement regarding the house, in Andheri, on a Facebook group. The victim contacted him based on it, visited the apartment and asked the accused to book it for her. The deal was sealed for a monthly rent of R25,000 and R50,000 security deposit. The same day the woman transferred R25,000 as advance through an online payment mode. The following day the accused told her to transfer another R10,000, which she did.
However, to her surprise when she went to the flat, she realised that it did not belong to the accused and that he was the tenant. She also found out that Bhayanderkar had not paid the rent for the house. Thereafter, she approached the Versova police and filed a complaint. Assistant police inspector Sohan Kadam from Versova police station registered an FIR and arrested the accused. Interrogation revealed that the Versova cops arrested him in January for duping a person of R1 lakh in the same way. He was released on bail.
Requesting anonymity, an officer said, "He would take apartments on rent in posh areas and not pay the money at first. He would take possession of the houses on the promise of making the payments once the agreements are done. But he would then look for tenants to cheat."
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