Man poses as Aaditya Thackeray’s PA, dupes woman

MUMBAI: Unit 5 of the Mumbai crime branch arrested two people on Saturday for allegedly cheating a woman by promising her a job as a clerk in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

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One of the accused posed as the personal assistant (PAs) of Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray. The two accused have been identified as Suraj Ramesh Kalav, 23, and Siddharth Ashok Pisal, 21. Both are habitual offenders and have cheated 17 people from Dadar, Elphinstone and Lalbaug, using the same modus operandi, said police officials.

The complainant, Prasanta Vichare, told the police she works in a Dadar-based school, where Kalav used to study. Kalav approached her two weeks ago and said he would use his influence as Aaditya Thackeray’s PA to get her a job in the BMC.Vichare paid Kalav Rs3.77 lakh in three to four installments. Kalav told her the money was required to arrange certificates and get police clearance within two weeks.

Pisal posed as a BMC official to gain Vichare’s trust, said police inspector Ajay Sawant of the crime branch. He added that Kalav extorted more money from Vichare after she met Pisal.

The additional commissioner of police (crime), KMM Prasanna, confirmed that they arrested the two accused, who were handed over to the Dadar police.

An official of the crime branch unit 5 said they were conducting parallel investigation in the case. “A reliable source informed us about the accused,” said a crime branch officer.

“The accused confessed that they had cheated several people using the names of politicians,” added officer.