Deleted call entry exposes gambling addict who claimed to be robbed by cops

The police found that the ‘victim’ had siphoned off ₹2.23 lakh belonging to his employer to settle his gambling debts

MUMBAI: A deleted phone call record was all it took for the police to unravel the story of a man who claimed he had been robbed by two policemen on the Ghodbunder road. Instead, the police found that the ‘victim’ had siphoned off ₹2.23 lakh belonging to his employer to settle his gambling debts. The accused and his accomplice were arrested on Thursday.

Deleted call entry exposes gambling addict who claimed to be robbed by cops

According to senior police inspector Rahul Patil, the incident began on December 8 when Sushant Dashrath Mohite, 36, approached the police claiming he had been robbed. He told the cops that he was travelling on his two-wheeler from Kajupada to Mira Road around 10 am when two policemen in khaki uniforms stopped him at a roadblock near Chenaganch signal.

According to Mohite, the duo checked his vehicle papers, opened his scooter’s trunk and found a bag filled with cash, which he said was money that his employer, Ramchandra Satre, had given him to distribute to workers at a construction site. He told the police that the men accused him of carrying cash to influence voters ahead of elections, threatened to arrest him, and then fled with the ₹2.23 lakh.

Based on Mohite’s complaint, the police immediately registered a case against the unidentified impersonators, but when they reviewed CCTV footage, the timeline didn’t match Mohite’s version. Investigations into Mohite’s call detail records revealed that he had called someone from the spot and then deleted the call record.

“The deletion of the call log was suspicious and we suspected some foul play on part of the complainant and questioned Mohite. He later confessed to have called his friend Omkar Ankush Bhadge, 26, and handed over the money to him before approaching the police station,” said Patil.

On Thursday, police arrested both Mohite and Bhadge. “Both the accused had considerable gambling debts and had staged the incident to clear their debt,” added Patil.