Man posing as Aaditya Thackeray’s personal assistant dupes engineering student of over Rs 25 lakh, say police

Nagvekar, the police said, had been facing trouble finding a job after flunking a subject in the third year of engineering. He did not receive a course completion certificate from the college. (Representational Image)

A man allegedly posing as the personal assistant of Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray allegedly cheated a student of over Rs 25 lakh after promising to get the latter employed with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. According to the police, the student, Deven Nagvekar, came in contact with the accused, Suraj Kalav, in May 2017 while studying at a city engineering college. Nagvekar, the police said, had been facing trouble finding a job after flunking a subject in the third year of engineering. He did not receive a course completion certificate from the college.

However, Kalav claimed that he could help Nagvekar get a job as a sub engineer in the BMC under the ‘Shiv Sena’ quota, police said. Kalav asked for a payment of Rs 25,000 in order for Nagvekar to undergo a training course and further Rs 25,000 to get his course completion certificate from the college and submit it to the BMC to finish his application, said police.

In June last year, Nagvekar and his aunt, who was helping to arrange funds, noticed something amiss when they contacted a BMC official, who said that he had not received any job application. Police said when Nagvekar brought the matter up with Kalav, he claimed that he had been booked by the Cyber Cell of the Mumbai Police for forgery. “The accused claimed that the cyber cell had raided his office and seized his computer. He also claimed to Nagvekar that the cyber cell knew that Nagvekar was trying to get employment into the BMC using fraudulent means,” said an official at Shivaji Park police station.

Kalav, the police added, scared Nagvekar into believing that he was being investigated, by the cyber cell and the Central Bureau of Investigation. Kalav also told Nagvekar that his file was with the state home department.

“The accused claimed that he could extricate Nagvekar from the trouble only if he paid off the authorities. In July 2017, the complainant paid Kalav Rs 25 lakh,” the official said. When the promised job failed to materialise, Nagvekar once again inquired with the BMC, only to be told that Kalav had allegedly duped several people in the past. Nagvekar filed a complaint of cheating, criminal breach of trust and impersonation under the Indian Penal Code against Kalav.

“This is second case registered against Kalav at Shivaji Park in two years. But this is the first time he has scared one of his victims by lying about a police case lodged against them,” said Gangadhar Sonawane, senior inspector, Shivaji Park police station. Kalav is in the custody of Dadar police.