Navratri In Mumbai: 156 Youths Duped Of ₹5 Lakh By Man Selling 'Cheap' Passes For Falguni Pathak's 'Garba Night'

Mumbai: Approximately 156 young individuals in Mumbai found themselves swindled of a total of Rs 5.14 lakh as they attempted to purchase passes for an upcoming 'garba night' by Falguni Pathak, one of the city's most renowned dandiya performers. The deception unfolded when a man who claimed to be an authorised event dealer failed to deliver the discounted tickets he had promised. Consequently, the affected youths decided to report the incident to the Mumbai police.

'Authorised' dealer of event dupes youth

The ordeal began when a 20-year-old resident of Kandivali received information from an acquaintance. This acquaintance revealed that a certain Vishal Shah, who professed to be an authorised dealer for Falguni Pathak's event in Borivali (West), was advertising passes at the reduced rate of Rs 3,300, significantly below the official price of Rs 4,500, according to the details presented in the police complaint.

Motivated by this apparent opportunity, the 20-year-old, who operates a painting business, made the decision to acquire passes, along with two of his friends. Word of this enticing offer rapidly spread, prompting 153 more individuals within their network to express their desire to obtain these passes. As a result, the 20-year-old and his two friends gathered the necessary funds from the others. On Thursday, they conveyed their readiness to purchase a total of 156 passes to Shah.

Shah promised to deliver passes, stopped answering calls later

As stated in the First Information Report (FIR), Shah instructed the three individuals to come at a designated location on New Link Road in Borivali (West). He informed them that another person would be there to collect the payment on his behalf, with the assurance that Shah would personally deliver the passes to them at a later time.

Adhering to Shah's directions, the three young individuals proceeded accordingly. Subsequently, Shah provided them with an address in Yogi Nagar and requested that they retrieve the passes from that location. Upon arrival, the trio encountered difficulties in locating the specified building. Additionally, it was reported that Shah's phone was turned off or unreachable. In response to these setbacks, the youths decided to initiate a formal complaint at the MHB Colony police station.

The Mumbai MHB police have responded by registering a case against the prime suspect, Vishal Shah, and several others, invoking sections 406, 420, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.