A 61-year-old real estate agent, Satyanarayan Sharma, was arrested by the Tulinj police on Saturday for allegedly duping scores of migrants with a promise of sending them to their native place in Uttar Pradesh from Vasai Road station.
Around 10 to 15 migrants have complained to the police stating that each of them was charged Rs 3,000 for the 40-hour trip.
A video clip of the accused promising them the trip has been sent to the Tulinj police. Four more are absconding in the case.
Sharma had assured migrants that he will send them to their native place in Jaunpur, Gorakhpur and other UP cities, without the vital e-permits, as mandated by the Palghar collector. Many migrants fell for the trap and they each paid cash to the agent, said D Patil, PI, Tulinj police station.
Sharma also told them to carry their Aadhar card just in case the Railway authorities demanded it en route, said Patil. The accused told the migrants that they will be issued their tokens at Nalla Sopara from where a bus will take them to Vasai Road station to board the train, said a police officer.
The accused claimed he has been falsely implicated and had returned the money to the migrants, but we don’t believe him as we are probing further, said Patil.
{{/usCountry}}The accused claimed he has been falsely implicated and had returned the money to the migrants, but we don’t believe him as we are probing further, said Patil.
{{/usCountry}}We have to be careful as the accused is suffering from diabetes and blood pressure ailments and he is a senior citizen, said a police officer.