The Panvel City police have arrested a 32-year-old man from Pune for cheating several people by putting up posters of fake job opportunities at railway stations and bus stops in Navi Mumbai.
The accused has been identified as Sachin Mhatre, a cook at a hotel in Pune. Police sub-inspector Devidas Palve said that Mr. Mhatre cheated people to make extra money. The police said that two girls had filed a complaint against Mr. Mhatre in November 2018 for duping them into handing over their gold jewellery and cell phones to him.
Put up posters
The police said that the complainants were looking for a job after clearing their Class XII exams and completing a computer course. They then came across a poster advertising job opportunities at a bus stop at Dastan phata in Uran. The girls dialled the mobile number provided on the poster and came into contact with Mr. Mhatre. The accused then asked the girls to meet him at Panvel railway station.
Mr. Mhatre told the girls that there were two vacant posts for accountants at a tuition centre. The accused asked them to fill up a form to apply for the job and told them that they would have to attend an interview. The police officer said, “The accused told the girls to hand over to him their gold jewellery and mobile phones as they were not allowed to take them for the interview. The accused then told them to bring photocopies of their Class X and Class XII marks cards. When the two girls left, the accused fled with the valuables given to him for safe keeping.”
Fled with motorcycle
Mr. Palve said that in another cheating case registered with the Panvel City police, the accused made away with the two-wheeler of a man, who had approached him for a job. The police said that the accused drove away the bike when the complainant went out to make photocopies of his documents.
Mr. Palve said, “The accused then put up the bike for sale on OLX. He met a buyer through the app and arranged a meeting to execute the deal. However, the accused took the money from the buyer and gave only the documents of the two-wheeler in return. The accused did not hand over the bike and cheated the buyer.”
Used real name
The police said that they identified the accused as he had used his real name while cheating his victims. Mr. Palve said, “In 2015, I had arrested the accused in a similar cheating case when I was posted at the Vashi police station. When the victims told me that the accused’s name was Sachin Mhatre, I quickly identified the culprit. I produced a photo of Mr. Mhatre to the victims and they immediately identified him. We tracked the location of his mobile phone and traced him to Pune.”
The Panvel City police said that the accused used to stay in Uran, but shifted to Pune after he was arrested in 2015. The police said that Mr. Mhatre often travelled from Pune to Navi Mumbai to dupe people.