Scientist, aide dupe bizman, make him invest ₹1.54cr in antiques; held

Unit 11 of the Mumbai crime branch on Saturday arrested a 51-year-old scientist and his 41-year-old aide for duping a businessman of ₹1.54 crore. The two arrested

Unit 11 of the Mumbai crime branch on Saturday arrested a 51-year-old scientist and his 41-year-old aide for duping a businessman of ₹1.54 crore. The two arrested accused, along with other accused, lured the victim into investing money in antiques which they claimed have high value in international market.

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According to police, the two arrested accused are Sayyed Raizada, 51, a scientist residing in Jai Bharatmata Nagar in Sion (East) and Pragnesh Davda alias Thakkar, 41, a resident of Borivli.

The mastermind of the gang, Yogendra Prajapati, 58, a resident of Gorai in Borivli, was arrested on December 18 and has been remanded in police custody.

The complainant Nityanand Naidu, 48, met Prajapati through a mutual friend in 2013. Prajapati had introduced himself as the owner of an antique shop which deals in acquiring, testing and selling antique items. Prajapati told Naidu these items are worth hundreds of crores in international markets. Citing that he gets scientists from DRDO to check the radiation of materials before selling them, he said he was looking for investment.

After showing him some documents and how the testing is done with the help of Raizada and Davda, Prajapati convinced the complainant to make an investment of ₹1.54 crore. However, after taking the money he cut all communication.

The complainant said he was turned away by local police who said it was a civil dispute. He added he approached crime branch after a news report where the accused were arrested in a similar case by the crime branch.

When asked if Raizada posed as scientist from any defence research organisation, a crime branch officer refused to comment, saying they will hold a press conference on Monday.