156 youths were allegedly cheated of Rs 5.14 lakh while trying to buy passes for a garba night by Mumbai’s most famous dandiya queen Falguni Pathak after a man claiming to be an authorised dealer for the event failed to deliver the discounted tickets he had promised them. The youths have filed a complaint with the Mumbai police. A 20-year-old Kandivali resident was recently informed by an acquaintance that one Vishal Shah, who claimed to be an authorised dealer of Falguni Pathak’s event in Borivali (West), was selling passes for Rs 3,300, which is lower than the actual price of Rs 4,500, as per the police complaint.
The youth, who runs a painting business, decided to buy the passes along with two of his friends. Soon, word spread and 153 others they knew also expressed interest in purchasing the passes. The youth and his two friends collected cash from the others and on Thursday they informed Shah that they were ready to buy 156 passes.Shah asked the trio to reach a place on New Link Road, Borivali (West) from where a man would collect the money, adding that Shah himself would hand over the passes to them later, according to the FIR. The three youths followed Shah’s instructions. Later, he gave them an address in Yogi Nagar and asked them to collect the passes from there. On reaching the spot, the trio were unable to find the building. They also reportedly found that Shah’s phone was switched off. The youths then filed a complaint at MHB Colony police station. A search is currently on to nab him.