Mumbai: The Oshiwara police have apprehended a notorious fraudster for sexually harassing and defrauding a 29-year-old business woman of nearly Rs 70 lakh by promising lucrative returns on investments in shares. The accused, Siddharth Dilip Mehta, has multiple fraud cases registered against him at Juhu, Khar police station, and the Economic Offences Wing.
The complainant, a resident of Andheri who operates a private company related to the film industry, was introduced to the 43-year-old accused through mutual friends in December 2022 and learnt that he was a stock market broker and resides in Versova.
Friendship turned into romantic relationship
The two developed a friendship, which eventually converted into a romantic relationship. Mehta, however, exploited this relationship to sexually assault the complainant on several occasions and also persuaded her to invest, promising to double her invested amount. Believing his assurances, she gradually invested approximately Rs 70 lakh. Initially, Mehta provided the victim with satisfactory returns, but he later ceased making any refunds. In May, he started evading the complainant’s inquiries about their marriage plans and distanced himself from her, eventually going incommunicado. Upon discovering Mehta's deceit, she lodged a complaint against him with the Oshiwara Police in May.
Following a thorough investigation, Mehta was charged with sexual harassment, cheating, misbehavior, and intimidation, promptly after which he absconded. However, he was apprehended by the Crime Branch officials of Bandra Unit 9 on Friday in Girgaon and subsequently handed over to the Oshiwara police for further interrogation. He has since been arrested and remanded to police custody for four day by the local court, which remanded him to police custody for four days. Given Mehta's notorious history, the police suspect his arrest may help solve some other similar incidents.
