MUMBAI: Over 20 jewellers across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Gujarat were allegedly duped by two men, who pretended to be doctors or their wives and targeted shops adjacent or opposite to hospitals.
The accused have been identified as Manish Ambekar, 43, a Nalasopara resident and Anwar Ali Kadir Shaikh, 26, of Karjat.
Abhijeet Lande, investigating officer and PSI, said on Sunday at 7.30pm, Chetan Rajkumar Jain, the owner of Ram Jewellers in Bhayandar East, received a call on his mobile phone from a ‘woman’, who claimed to be the wife of a doctor working at Sai Ashirwad Hospital and expressed her desire to buy two gold bangles weighing around four tolas.
The ‘woman’ asked Jain to send his employee to the hospital to take measurements of her hands. The caller also informed him that she had ₹4 lakh in ₹2,000 denomination and she wanted change for ₹2 lakh in ₹500 currency notes.
Jain told the police that he sent his employee to the hospital with cash and a design catalogue. “As soon as Jain’s employee reached the stairs of the hospital, a man intercepted him saying that he was sent by the doctor’s wife to receive him. The man took the bag containing cash from the jeweller’s employee and told him to go upstairs to take the measurement while he counted the cash on the machine,” Vijay Pawar, senior police inspector, Navghar police station, said.
{{/usCountry}}Jain told the police that he sent his employee to the hospital with cash and a design catalogue. “As soon as Jain’s employee reached the stairs of the hospital, a man intercepted him saying that he was sent by the doctor’s wife to receive him. The man took the bag containing cash from the jeweller’s employee and told him to go upstairs to take the measurement while he counted the cash on the machine,” Vijay Pawar, senior police inspector, Navghar police station, said.
{{/usCountry}}When Jain’s employee went to the first floor and enquired about the doctor’s cabin, he was informed that no such doctor worked in the hospital. The employee then ran down to look for the man whom he had given the cash to, however, the fraud had fled from the spot. The employee informed about the incident to Jain, who approached the police.
The police then circulated CCTV footage of the fraud among their informers. “Based on their inputs, we tracked Ambekar and arrested him on Wednesday,” Pawar said. The police searched Amberkar’s residence and found the cash and later tracked down his accomplice.
“The duo confessed that they have cheated several jewellers in Bhandup, Thane, Vapi and other places. Their modus operandi was to locate a jewellery store near a hospital and then get the phone numbers from the signboard of the shop and the doctor’s name from the list of doctors on the display board of the hospital and make the calls,” Pawar said.
The police said Ambekar, the mastermind of the racket, is a school dropout and unemployed. A court on Wednesday remanded the duo in police custody.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.