Naupada police in Thane arrest serial conman

Naupada police in Thane arrest a serial conman who allegedly took items like stationery in bulk from retailers, claiming that he was going to donate them to orphanages, and sold them instead, making a 100% profit

The Naupada police have arrested a serial conman who allegedly took items like stationery in bulk from retailers, claiming that he was going to donate them to orphanages, and sold them instead, making a 100% profit.

A 40-year-old conman who cheated people and made money has been arrested by Naupada police in Thane after more than 8 months. (HT FILE)

According to the Naupada police, a case was registered against the accused on January 15 this year. The complainant, who works at a stationery store in Thane, had received a call from the accused, who identified himself as Sachin Shah. The accused had said that he worked with an NGO and wanted to procure 1,080 boxes of pencils that were to be donated to orphanages. He allegedly received delivery of the consignment in Bhiwandi and promised to pay via netbanking, but went incommunicado instead, after which the complainant approached the police.

“We found that the accused had committed several such offences in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane and further received information that he was staying in Malad. Our team reached the location but the accused had already shifted a few days earlier,” senior police inspector Sanjay Dhumal, Naupada police station said.

He added that the team kept on tracing the accused, obtaining several addresses for him, checking CCTV footage at all these spots and trying to trace his location through cellular location mapping till they finally received a tip off that he was staying in Virar under an assumed name.

The accused, Sachin Shah (40), was arrested on Thursday evening and has been remanded in police custody for two days, officials said.