Smelling opportunity at a time when a hospital bed cannot be had for the love of humanity or divinity, a conman cheated a Lalbaug resident out of Rs 1 lakh, by promising to arrange a bed for the latter's ailing brother in a private hospital. A man, reportedly in his mid-twenties, duped Ravindra Rawle aka Bala, 61, on the pretext of finding a hospital bed for Rawle's brother, Ramesh, 63, who is famous for making Ganesh idols.
On May 26, Ramesh, who was admitted to KEM Hospital for the treatment of kidney stones, suddenly found he was having trouble breathing. "In the current pandemic, the government hospital is stretched to its limit and it is impossible for them to give proper attention to other patients. A few days after my brother was admitted, I was called to the hospital and when I saw the conditions there, I thought it would be best to shift him to a private hospital, " said Ravindra, a retired income tax employee.
"At the hospital, a man identifying himself as Vicky Salvi approached me and claimed that he worked at KEM and asked me to shift my brother to a private hospital as there were many coronavirus patients here. He further claimed that he could arrange a bed at a nearby private hospital at a reasonable rate. He seemed trustworthy and I decided to follow his advice," said Ravindra.
Salvi then took Ravindra to three private hospitals and at the third hospital, he claimed he had arranged for a bed but said the hospital wanted Rs 1 lakh as a deposit. A desperate Ravindra agreed to pay but said since he did not have so much cash on him at that time, Salvi could accompany him to his house in Lalbaug and they could bring back the cash.
When the duo reached the hospital gate, Ravindra handed over the money to Salvi, who then entered the hospital. When Ravindra tried to follow him, Salvi questioned whether Ravindra did not trust him and if such was the case, he could take back his money. Embarrassed, Ravindra said he completely trusted him, which is why he was giving him the money.
After a while, Salvi returned, saying everything was set and they only had to get Ramesh discharged from KEM.
"At KEM, Salvi claimed that in order to re-enter the hospital, he needed to wear personal protective gear and disappeared, never to return again. It was around 8pm when we reached the hospital, I looked for him for hours but he was nowhere. Around 12.30am, I informed my family about the scam and returned home," he said.
The following day, Ravindra went to Bhoiwada police station and lodged a complaint. "We have registered an offence of cheating against an unknown accused and are looking for the accused, " said an officer from Bhoiwada police station.
In another incident, a businessman from Khar was duped of Rs 57,000 in the process of ordering N-95 masks. The businessman had approached a Delhi-based private company and placed an initial order of 1,000 masks, paying Rs 57,000. However, when his order arrived on June 8, he was shocked to find two bars of soap, instead of masks. He then lodged a complaint with Khar Police.
