Broker held for duping businesswomen of ₹11 lakh

The amount includes a security deposit for the rented space of ₹5 lakh, ₹2.5 lakh that he had borrowed from them for his father’s treatment, and ₹3.5 lakh that he had charged to make a new rental agreement, which did not materialise, the police said

MUMBAI: A 38-year-old broker from Malad, who had been on the run for three months, was arrested on Monday for allegedly defrauding two businesswomen of ₹11 lakh. The amount includes a security deposit for the rented space of ₹5 lakh, ₹2.5 lakh that he had borrowed from them for his father’s treatment, and ₹3.5 lakh that he had charged to make a new rental agreement, which did not materialise, the police said.

After three months of searching, the police arrested the broker on Monday.

According to the police, the ordeal began in July 2024, when the two women, Pooja and Manisha, along with their friend Amol Narendra Mistry, a furniture shop owner from Andheri, came together to run a salon in Malad. For this purpose, they were looking for shop spaces for rent and learnt about the availability in the Rustamji Ozan building on the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road. When they reached out to the owner, Aniruddh Singh, he referred them to his broker, Hansit Harwinder Singh, saying he was the one handling the rental affairs of the space.

Hansit told the women that they had to pay a security deposit of ₹5 lakh and ₹2.5 lakh as rent each month. Subsequently, they signed a rental agreement in the name of the space owners and the partners of the salon. In August 2024, they paid him a total of ₹7.5 lakh as the security deposit and the rent for the first month, starting from September, said a police officer.

“In September 2024, Hansit borrowed ₹2.5 lakh from the women, saying that his father was undergoing treatment in Saraswati Hospital in Malad for some serious illness,” the officer said.

Eventually, differences occurred between the partners of the salon and the two women wanted to get the name of a partner, with whom they had disputes, removed from the agreement, for which Hansit charged them ₹3.5 lakh.

“But before the new agreement could be made, the salon went out of business, forcing them to shut the shop in June 2025. When they reached out to Aniruddh for returning their security deposit, he told them that the money they had paid to Hansit never reached him,” the officer added.

The police said that Hansit, when asked to return ₹11 lakh, refused to repay.

Following this, the women reached out to the police in July this year. The police registered a complaint against Hansit and launched a search operation for him. After three months of searching, the police arrested him on Monday.