Ulwe couple cheats man of ₹4.5 lakh by promising him milk stall

The Vashi police have booked a man who posed as a Mantralaya employee and cheated a Kurla resident of ₹4.5 lakh while promising to set up a milk stall by putting

The Vashi police have booked a man who posed as a Mantralaya employee and cheated a Kurla resident of ₹4.5 lakh while promising to set up a milk stall by putting up advertisement on a website. The man’s wife was also booked for her role in the crime.

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The complainant, Sachin Salap, and his friend had approached Ashwini Upadhyay after seeing the advertisement and thought of opening a milk stall in June.

Ashwini introduced her husband Dev as a Mantralaya worker. Dev claimed that he is handles the setting up of milk stalls across Navi Mumbai. The meeting took place at the couple’s Ulwe residence where Ashwini also showed Salap a list of 72 places where they could set up the stalls.

When Salap asked her if Dev can help him buy a stall for Shivaji Park in Dadar, Dev visited the spot to inspect the plot and agreed. He asked for ₹10 lakh, half of which were to be paid to him directly. The remaining ₹5 lakh was to be issued via Mudra loan in Salap’s name.

Salap also introduced his sister to Dev and paid ₹50,000 for a stall in her name in June. On July 16, when Salap tried to contact Dev, he found his number switched off.

When the calls went unanswered, Salap approached the officials at government milk scheme in Belapur CBD. He learnt that the papers made him eligible to setup stalls only in Navi Mumbai and not in Mumbai. The stalls can only be set up after getting clearance from the municipal corporation and Maharashtra State Electricity Board.

When he landed at Dev’s Ulwe apartment, he found the apartment locked and learnt several other persons have been cheated by him.

“The main accused works in a private company and had claimed to be a Mantralaya employee. We are also investigating into the complainant’s allegations that several other persons have been cheated. We will record their statements as they arrive,” said Anil Deshmukh, senior inspector at Vashi police station.

The Vashi police have booked the couple on charges of cheating.