Two fraudsters have allegedly duped a retired employee of a Saudi Arabian oil company of nearly Rs 70 lakh under the pretext of investing in share trading. The incident has come to light from the Bandra area of Mumbai. Following the complaint, the Bandra police have registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust against the accused identified as Arpit Nilesh Shah and Manish Malkan. Both accused are currently absconding, and police have launched a search operation to trace them.
The complainant, Mehraj Ahmed Riyaz Khan (60), a resident of Bandra, lives with his wife and two children. Khan had retired in 2016 from KGO Oil Company in Saudi Arabia, where he worked as a radio operator. He was acquainted with Vandana and Rohit Gaikwad, who were family friends and frequently visited each other’s homes. Through the Gaikwads, Khan was introduced to Arpit Shah.
During their acquaintance, Arpit claimed to be involved in share market trading and convinced Khan that investing in the stock market would yield high returns. On the Gaikwad family's recommendation and trust, Khan decided to invest through Arpit Shah.
Initially, Khan invested Rs 10 lakh with Arpit, who paid him a return at the rate of five percent, which further strengthened Khan’s trust in him. Later, Arpit introduced Khan to Manish Malkan, who posed as the owner of an investment company named ‘Share Market Investment’. On Manish’s advice, Khan invested Rs 53 lakh via cheque and an additional Rs 6 lakh in cash, amounting to a total investment of Rs 59 lakh.
Out of this, the accused returned Rs 10 lakh as part of the promised returns and assured Khan that the remaining principal along with interest — a total of Rs 70 lakh — would be paid later. However, the accused failed to return the money within the agreed period. When Khan contacted them, both Arpit and Manish gave various excuses and subsequently switched off their phones and went absconding.
Realizing he had been cheated, Khan lodged a formal complaint at Bandra Police Station. Following a preliminary inquiry, the police registered a case of cheating and criminal breach of trust against both accused under relevant sections of the BNS.
Before the case could be filed, the accused had already fled, prompting police to initiate a special search operation. Investigators are also probing whether the duo has defrauded more individuals under the pretense of share trading.