Mira-Bhayandar: Officials from the crime branch unit (Zone I) attached to the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police claim to have arrested five members of gang on alleged charges of cheating home seekers by promising cheap flats in housing schemes launched by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) in Mira Road.
The gang had recently duped a 48-year-old woman who runs an e-seva kendra in Bhayandar (west) to the tune of ₹10 lakh towards advance payment and documentation work related to two flats.
Gang members posed as MHADA officials
Some of the gang members even posed as MHADA officials by showing identity cards and doled out fake provisional allotment letters and bogus payment receipts related to the flats located in Mira Road to the gullible home seeker.
After getting a whiff about the illegal activities of the gang, the crime branch team led by police inspector-Aviraj Kurhade and API Prashant Gangurde started investigations and caught all the five accused red handed while they arrived at the complainant’s home at Rai Village near Bhayandar on Wednesday to fleece more money under the pretext of facilitating documentation of yet another flat on behalf of the complainant.
Accused found with incriminating documents
The accused who have been identified as - Javed Alishah Patel, Moinudiin Salimuddin Khan, Afsar Ishaad Shaikh, Sujit Dattaram Chavhan and Rajendraprasad Rajkaran Yadav were found to be in possession of application forms, affidavits, laptop and a biometric device.
Not ruling out their involvement in more such similar crimes, the police have booked the gang members under sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 170 (personating a public servant), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467( forgery of valuable security) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the IPC.
Helpline to register complaints
The police have appealed to other victims cheated by the gang or any other imposter to come forward and register their complaints with the Bhayandar police station or contact officials on 022-28192257 or 08657936951. Meanwhile all the accused were remanded to custody after they were produced before the district sessions court, Thane on Thursday.
