Mumbai: Cops arrest fraudster, recover swindled money
The police have also found that the accused was part of a larger racket operated by the main accused based in Jamtara
Mumbai: Cops arrest fraudster, recover swindled money | File Photo
Mumbai: The Malabar Hill police on Wednesday arrested a Navi Mumbai resident who allegedly siphoned Rs 1.73 lakh from the account of a housewife from Napean Sea Road by posing as an electricity supply company employee. Significantly, the police have succeeded in returning part of the swindled amount to the victim.
According to the Malabar Hill police, the 53-year-old victim received a call at around 2 p.m on May 30 from the accused, who claimed to be calling from her electricity supplier. He allegedly told the victim that her details needed to be updated in the system and that she would have to make a nominal payment of Rs 10 for this. He further added that this update was essential to keep her electricity supply uninterrupted and that she would have to install an app for the process to complete.
“On the caller’s instructions, the victim installed the app, which turned out to be a screen sharing app that gave him remote access to her cell phone. He then asked him to make the payment via net banking and noted down her log-in credentials during this time, after which he stole a total of Rs 1,73,077 from her account in three installments,” said senior police inspector Rajan Rane, Malabar Hill police station.
The victim subsequently registered a complaint and the cyber cell of the police station started technical investigations into the matter.
“We followed the trail of the stolen money and found that it had been transferred into a gift voucher of a popular electronics seller. Using these gift cards, the accused had also purchased a cell phone. Using the technical details obtained during our investigations, we traced the accused to his residence in Koparkhairane, Navi Mumbai,” Rane said.
The accused, identified as Madanlal Saav (37) is a waiter by profession and a native of Bokaro in Jharkhand. The police have also found that Saav was part of a larger racket operated by the main accused based in Jamtara, and he is currently wanted in the case. Saav was arrested on Wednesday morning and produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court in Girgaum, which remanded him in police custody till July 11.
“We also contacted the online platform through which the mobile phone was purchased and were successful in reversing the transaction. As a result, Rs 73,084 was credited to the victims’ account,” Rane said.
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