Mumbai: Easy money lure flushes conman out of hiding after four years

The police said Sandip Patsute had promised to get them flats at throwaway rates under MHADA’s lottery scheme

The Trombay police have arrested a 45-year-old conman, who had been absconding since 2018, after luring him with the prospect of financial gain. Sandip Patsute, had been booked for cheating five Mumbai residents out of Rs 18.29 lakh collectively. The police said Patsute had promised to get them flats at throwaway rates under MHADA’s lottery scheme. When they approached the police after realising they had been conned, Patsute fled the city and had been on the run since then.

“We made repeated attempts to apprehend him, including sending a team to his native place, Patan in Satara, and making inquiries with his family in Mumbai,” said an officer with the Trombay police who was part of the investigation.

The officer added that nabbing Patsute was challenging as even his family members did not have a number to contact him. He would get in touch with them using different numbers at infrequent intervals. “We convinced one of his relatives to help us. Late last month, on receiving Patsute’s call, the relative told him that a party had expressed interest in buying a MHADA flat and was willing to make a down payment of up to Rs 3 lakh,” said the officer.

Patsute immediately agreed to come to Mumbai to meet the ‘client’. The police laid a trap at Nerul and intercepted him on Wednesday evening. He was arrested on charges of cheating. The police discovered two cases registered against him in Satara. He was arrested by the Medha police in a murder case in 2003, and an attempt-to-dacoity case in 2004. “Patsute fled to Mumbai and ran a Chinese food eatery for a while,” the officer said.

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