Bail for Thane resident who posed as Mantralaya staff

A Thane resident has been granted bail after being arrested for cheating an engineer of ₹2 lakh by posing as a cyber security officer from Mantralaya. The court noted that the prosecution had ample opportunities to investigate the accused's role and that not filing a charge-sheet and the ascendance of co-accused were not good reasons to deny bail. The main accused is still absconding.

MUMBAI: The sessions court has granted bail to a 35-year-old Thane resident who was arrested in 2022 for cheating an engineer of ₹2 lakh by posing as a cyber security officer from Mantralaya.

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Additional sessions judge S D Tawshikar noted that the prosecution had got ample opportunities to investigate the role of the accused, Nitish Savdekar. “Not filing a charge-sheet and ascendence of co-accused cannot be a good reason to deny bail,” said the court while granting him bail.

Savdekar was booked under sections 170 (personating public servant), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the police, the complainant Khimjibhai Wanel is an engineer. He wanted to develop a software for Maharashtra traffic police that could issue e-challans and sell the same to the Maharashtra government. His brother-in-law Hirabhai Dafda introduced him to one Jasmin, who in turn introduced him to a political figure, who in turn introduced him to the main accused Prashant Navghare.

In March 2022, Navghare, who is still absconding, posed as the then home minister’s personal assistant. He claimed he had good connections in Mantralaya and assured Wanel of help in getting the contract for the software. He also put Wanel in touch with Savdekar, who claimed he was a cyber security officer in Mantralaya.

Savdekar demanded money from Wanel under the garb of getting the proposal cleared at the Mantralaya. After Wanel transferred ₹2,38,000, Savdekar handed him a work order dated 13 May 2023. But the work order was not on the government’s letterhead and was full of spelling mistakes, which raised questions about its genuineness.

Advocate Gautam Gavai, representing Savdekar, submitted that the applicant was falsely implicated merely because he is related to the main accused. Additional public prosecutor Ajit Chavan strongly objected to the bail plea on the grounds that Prashant Navghare, who is still absconding, may never get arrested if the applicant was granted bail.

The court, however, granted bail to Savdekar against a surety of ₹15,000, which has to be furnished in four weeks.