Nearly eleven months after allegedly cheating a private tutor on the pretext of offering her a teaching job and securing admission for three children, Borivali Police have arrested a woman identified as Karishma Jitesh Mehta. She is accused of misappropriating a total of ₹2.65 lakh collected under the guise of job placement and school admissions.
According to police, complainant Aarti Patil, a resident of Borivali and a private tutor by profession, met Karishma Mehta in March 2024 at the residence of her aunt, Smita Bhalekar, located in Sumer Nagar, Borivali. During the meeting, Mehta requested Patil to conduct private coaching for her daughter studying in Class 10. Patil agreed and began tutoring the girl from the following day.
While interacting over the next few weeks, Mehta allegedly claimed that she worked as a freelance BMC school agent and could secure a teaching job for Patil. She also promised admission for Patil’s son in a reputed school. Trusting her, Patil handed over her personal and educational documents in August 2024, along with a payment towards the supposed job process.
During the same period, Patil’s uncle Raju Bhalekar also requested Mehta to arrange school admissions for his two children. Mehta allegedly collected ₹1.5 lakh from him towards the admission procedure.
In instalments, Patil and her relatives together paid ₹2.65 lakh to Mehta for facilitating admissions and Patil’s employment at the school. Mehta even showed them a purported fee receipt from the school as proof.
However, when no job offer or admission was provided within the promised timeline, Patil and her family approached the school to verify the claims. They were shocked to learn that:
No job vacancy existed for Patil
No admission was processed for the children
The fee receipt given by Mehta was fake
Realising they had been deceived, the victims confronted Mehta and demanded their money back, but she allegedly kept delaying with excuses and stopped responding to calls.
Subsequently, Patil lodged a complaint at Borivali Police Station. After verification, police registered a case against Mehta for cheating, forgery of school fee receipts, and misappropriation of funds under the pretext of providing employment and school admissions.
Following months of investigation, Mehta was finally traced and arrested eleven months after the offence was registered.