Contractor booked for cheating Delhi-based firm of ₹12L

The company has been working on runway repairs at Mumbai Airport since November 2022. In March this year, they got in touch with the Next Level Contractor from Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, which provided them with the required machinery for rent.

MUMBAI: A city-based contractor has been booked for allegedly cheating a Delhi-based company working on runway repairs at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) of ₹12 lakh. Rohit Singh, the plant and machinery in charge of New India Infra Buildtech, filed a cheating complaint alleging that the contractor provided them with old and rusty machines with forged insurance policies.

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The company has been working on runway repairs at Mumbai Airport since November 2022. In March this year, they got in touch with the Next Level Contractor from Ulwe, Navi Mumbai, which provided them with the required machinery for rent.

“We paid the contractor more than ₹12 lakh, including the rent and GST. One of the machines needed to be insured, so the contractor also sent its insurance papers,” said Singh in his statement to the police.

When the machines arrived on April 1, they were found to be faulty. The company called the contractor, Venkatesh Yadav, and asked for a replacement. They also followed their request over emails. “There was no response from the contractor. Another engineer was called to repair the available machines, but they could not be repaired. The insurance policies were also found to be fake,” said an official from Sahar police.

The contracting company, its proprietor Venkatesh Yadav, and another executive Vinay Patil were booked under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using forged papers as genuine with fraudulent intention) of the Indian Penal Code.