Mumbai: Man Posing as Doctor Dupes Sion-Based Chemist of Rs 5.66 Lakh

In a case of fraud involving identity theft and forged transactions, a conman posing as a doctor from Santacruz’s V.N. Desai Hospital allegedly duped a 40-year-old medicine wholesaler and retailer in Sion of ₹5.66 lakh. The accused, identifying himself as “Dr. Deepanshu Verma,” placed multiple pharmaceutical orders and issued cheques that later bounced.

According to the Sion Police, the victim, Nilesh Shivprasad Singh, resides in Bhayandar West and owns Kalyan Pharma, a wholesale and retail medical store in Sion. On April 30, Singh received a phone call from a man claiming to be Dr. Deepanshu Verma from V.N. Desai Hospital. The caller placed an urgent order worth ₹1.53 lakh for two types of medicines and sent a confirmation message over WhatsApp, requesting immediate delivery to the hospital.

Singh assigned his employee, Sachin Yadav, to deliver the medicines. Upon reaching near the hospital, Yadav contacted the alleged doctor, who connected a third person over a conference call, introducing him as his autorickshaw driver. The driver collected the medicines and handed over a cheque of ₹1.53 lakh from Punjab National Bank.

Since May 1 was a bank holiday, Singh couldn’t deposit the cheque immediately. However, the same person placed two more orders on May 1 and 2, delivered via the same rickshaw driver. Each time, cheques were issued – one again from Punjab National Bank and the other from Canara Bank.

Singh deposited all three cheques in his HDFC Bank account on May 2. However, two cheques bounced due to blocked accounts, and the third was returned due to insufficient funds.

Suspecting fraud, Singh attempted to contact “Dr. Verma,” but found his phone switched off. He then visited V.N. Desai Hospital to verify the doctor’s credentials, only to learn that no one by that name was employed there. Realising he had been conned, Singh lodged a formal complaint with the Sion Police.

An FIR has been registered against the accused posing as Dr. Verma and the autorickshaw driver. Police are currently investigating the case and attempting to trace the suspects.

Further investigation is underway.