Mumbai: Man held for using 6-year-old cancer patient’s missing documents to try to dupe builder

A year ago, Rajaram Desale, a farmer in Thane whose six-year-old son is suffering from blood cancer, was travelling in a bus from Shahapur to Mumbai, when he lost the photocopies of his son’s medical documents, Aadhaar and ration cards. Desale’s son, Bharat, was diagnosed in April 2016 and had been undergoing treatment ever since at Tata Memorial Centre. Lost to Desale, the documents would prove to be a goldmine for fraudsters who would use them in an attempt to cheat a Dadar-based builder of lakhs of rupees. But ultimately, they would be their bane, too, for a phone number listed on the documents would lead to at least one of them getting arrested.

Last month, Mahendra Salunkhe, a partner at M K Builders and Developers, based in Dadar, received a phone call from a man who claimed to be a senior official of the Income Tax (I-T) Department. The man, who identified himself as ‘Mr Jadhav’, claimed to be the head of the I-T department’s Detection Unit. Claiming that the relative of an employee of the I-T Department was sick, the caller asked Salunkhe for money for his treatment. “The caller said that his driver’s young nephew had been diagnosed with cancer and needed Rs 3 lakh to treat him at Tata Memorial Centre,” said Salunkhe.

The caller gave Salunkhe a bank account number to transfer the money. But Salunkhe was skeptical about the whole story. “No one from the I-T department is ever going to call to make such a request. The caller claimed that my income tax returns are routed through his office and decided to ask me for help,” said Salunkhe. Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, Salunkhe refused to make an online transfer and asked the caller to send someone to his office to collect the money. According to police, a man named Anil Bodhare came to Salunkhe’s office on April 19, claiming to have been sent by ‘Mr Jadhav’. “I asked for some details of the patient, and Bodhare gave me photocopies of his medical history, and an Aadhaar and ration card,” said Salunkhe.

The documents appeared genuine to Salunkhe. However, he chanced upon a mobile phone number printed on the Aadhaar card of the patient, 6-year-old Bharat Desale of Shahapur town in Thane rural district. “The phone number was a godsend,” said Salunkhe. When he dialled the number, Rajaram Desale answered. “I dialled the number and the boy’s father answered. I asked him whether his son was suffering from cancer,” said Salunkhe. Desale confirmed that his son was undergoing chemotherapy at Tata Memorial Centre, but denied knowing Bodhare. “I asked him if he was aware that Bodhare was collecting funds for medical expenses. He told me he had not asked anyone to collect money on his behalf,” said Salunkhe.

Immediately, Salunkhe took Bodhare to Dadar police station, where he was arrested, on April 19. On interrogation, Bodhare identified ‘Mr Jadhav’, the ‘I-T official’ who called Salunkhe, as one Santosh Bhosle. “We have arrested Bodhare and booked him with impersonation and forgery. We are looking for Bhosle,” said an officer at Dadar police station.

Salunkhe’s actions have come as a relief to Desale, who could never have imagined how the misplaced documents would be used. “Someone picked them up and has been misusing them,” said Desale, who has not taken any loans to fund his son’s treatment. “No one will ever say no to giving money for a young boy’s treatment. I am glad these people have been exposed. They should be taught a lesson,” he said. Desale said Bharat was doing well in his treatment at Tata Memorial Centre. “It is a three-year course and my son has responded well to it,” he said.

This is not the first time Salunkhe has been called by people claiming to be Income Tax officials, asking for money for sick relatives or friends. In 2010, a man claiming to be an I-T official called Salunkhe to ask for money for a friend admitted in Sion Hospital with malaria. Salunkhe said the story was fraudulent, and several of his friends had fallen prey to it. He approached Mahim police station, which arrested two men in connection with the phone calls. “Till date, I do not think the mastermind behind these fraudulent phone calls has been caught,” he said.