The group accused Belvate of storing “undisclosed” cash and ordered him to bring it all out, following which Belvate brought out Rs 80.4 lakh in cash, police said. (File)A 59-YEAR-OLD businessman was allegedly hoodwinked by a group of 10 people, who orchestrated a fake raid at his house in Dahisar last week by posing as Income-Tax officials. According to police, the group got away with cash and valuables adding up to Rs 80 lakh.
Police arrested 13 people in connection with the incident on Tuesday. Police said early on June 8, a group of 10 men and women rang the doorbell of Kisan Belvate’s house, and introduced themselves as I-T officials to his son Prashant, who answered the door.
The group accused Belvate of storing “undisclosed” cash and ordered him to bring it all out, following which Belvate brought out Rs 80.4 lakh in cash, police said.
Police said further on, the accused confiscated the cash in bags along with four mobile phones that belonged to the family members. But after the group left, Belvate got suspicious and confided in his neighbour Deepak Shah, who advised him to contact the police.
An investigation showed that Borivali resident Altaf Kagdi, 32, had allegedly conspired to rob Belvate after he allegedly received a tip-off from a driver, identified as Anand Jadhav, formerly employed by Shah.
Police said Jadhav knew that Belvate was a well-to-do businessman, who stored large amounts of money at home. Kagdi, police added, got together a group of people, including his wife Babita Chauhan (25), to pose as I-T officials.
Eyewitnesses at the building where Belvate lives, together with CCTV footage from the area, showed the group leaving in cars and an auto-rickshaw belonging to a man identified as Sameer Ketkar (38), police said.
Police formed multiple teams to track down the accused after Ketkar told them about assisting Kagdi and the group escape. The accused were produced before court on Wednesday and remanded in police custody till June 17. Dilip Sawant, Additional Commissioner of Police, North region, said police were investigating whether the group had committed similar crimes before.
