A Thane resident fell victim to deception when an individual posing as a Mahanagar Gas employee purportedly carried out unauthorized repair work and demanded extra payment under false pretenses. The fraudulent individual, identified as Swapnil Subhash Bhosale, had previously been apprehended by Kalwa police for similar offenses involving misrepresentation as a Mahanagar Gas employee. A new complaint has been registered with the Kasarvadavli Police Station in Thane regarding this incident.
Complainant Vinayak Khamitkar who is a resident of Krishna Greenland Park, Kasarvadavali told, “At around 4 pm on March 1, 2024, a person claiming to be an employee of the Mahanagar Gas Company came to my house. He said that my gas meter was reading incorrectly and offered to fix it. He took a photo of the meter. He replaced 4 gas valves and charged Rs 3000 which is very hefty amount. He refused to give me the bill and told me that his supervisors will visit for further inspection and give the bill later.”
Later Khamitkar found out that those gas valves were just for Rs 20 in the market. “When I went to the Mahanagar Gas office, they told me that no such employee works in their organization and advised to me to register a police complaint,” stated Khamitkar. He admitted that his family wrongly trusted the fraud employee and transferred Rs 3000 via G-pay to him. Later, when contacted, suspect Bhosale’s number was found to be switched off. Khamitkar alleged that the suspect has tried the same trick with his neighbours also and demanded Rs 4000 to 5000 for repair works.
Kasarwadavli police are investigating the matter and officials from the Kalwa police station confirmed to LokmatTimes.com that he was the same person who was arrested last year for deceiving residents by entering their houses and claiming to be Mahanagar gas employee. “Such people shouldn't be spared. They mostly come during afternoon time and their modus operandi should be investigated. I am continuously taking the follow- up of this incident from the police. Whatever happened with me, shouldn’t be repeated and such fraudsters should be immediately put behind bars,” told Khamitkar.