Maharashtra: Five held for conning shopkeeper over loans

Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar police in Maharashtra have arrested five persons who cheated people on the pretext of arranging loans for them, and claimed to have detected three more crimes committed by the gang, an official said. The gang has conned people in Maharashtra, Telangana and Gujarat in the past two years, he said.

According to Jayant Bajbale, deputy commissioner of police, Zone I – Mira Road, the gang approached a shopkeeper on April 3 and offered to arrange a business loan for him. They took a cancelled cheque from him but tampered with it to siphon off Rs 1.18 lakh from his bank account, he said.

The police found that the accused frequently changed mobile phones and SIM cards. They then tracked them to Ahmednagar on June 14 where the gang was trying to con another shopkeeper. The police laid a trap and arrested the five on June 18, he said. The accused hail from West Bengal and Jharkhand, said Bajbale.

The official said that the gang has cheated people in Maharashtra, Telangana and Gujarat over the past two years.