Alert resident drives conmen to Kamothe police station

Navi Mumbai A 31-year-old barber from Panvel helped the police catch two conmen, who approached him to sell a 500gm gold chain of ₹2 lakh and silver coins. The items,

Navi Mumbai A 31-year-old barber from Panvel helped the police catch two conmen, who approached him to sell a 500gm gold chain of ₹2 lakh and silver coins. The items, which were made of iron, were seized.

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The complainant Amit Pandit, who runs a hair-dressing salon in Panvel, was accompanying his civil engineer brother, who was surveying the road near Panvel railway station on December 22. Around 1.30pm, a man who introduced himself as Mohan Mali, showed Pandit three ‘silver coins’ and told him he has 200 such coins and a 500gm gold chain which he wants to sell.

“Mali claimed he found the gold chain on the road and exchanged his contact number with Pandit. On December 27, Mali called Pandit at Khandeshwar railway station around 4.15 pm and told him he would sell the coins and chain for ₹2 lakh. Mali also gave him a stone from the chain and told him to verify that it is real,” said an officer from Panvel city police station.

Next day, Mali called Pandit again and enquired if he wanted to buy the items. When Pandit quoted a price of ₹1 lakh, he agreed.

Pandit suspected the men of being professional conmen. He went to Khandeshwar railway station with his friend Anurag Wagchoure and met Mali on Sunday. Mali was accompanied by another person, who was identified as Bhagwan Dhamdhale.

When Mali asked Pandit for the money, he told him he has kept the cash in his car. When Mali and his accomplice got into the car, the duo drove the suspects to Kamothe police station.

Since the crime took place in the jurisdiction of Panvel police, the case was transferred there and the duo was handed over to them. The accused duo was arrested for cheating.