The Manickpur police arrested a 42-year-old man for allegedly duping traders in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Pune, and Nashik to the tune of Rs 2 lakh. The accused, identified as Manish Ambekar, a resident of Nalasopara used to call traders on their cellphones by posing as a woman. The Manickpur police managed to recover around Rs 2 lakh from the accused's possession.

The incident came to light when several traders from the Vasai-Virar region registered a complaint that they were being sweet-talked by a woman. According to the police officials, the accused would visit jewellery showrooms, grocery shops, and medical stores, where mobile numbers of the owners were displayed on the name boards, reports Mumbai Mirror.

Ambedkar modus-operandi was to call these owners and show interest in making purchases from them. Once the victims were convinced to deliver the goods at a particular place, the accused used to ask them to bring Rs 100 and Rs 500 currency notes in order to exchange Rs 2,000 notes which he claimed that he had in abundance.

During the police investigation, it was revealed that the accused would leave his home every day for work. Instead, he would loiter around busy streets which were lined with jewellery shops and grocery stores.

Ambedkar had cases registered in Bhandup, Dahisar, Ghatkopar, Dahanu, Palghar, Kasa, Vasai, Kalwa, Naupada, Wagle Estate, Shahpur, Pune and Nashik. Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap for four days and finally, he was caught on February 28. The number from which Ambedkar used to call the victims helped in nab the accused.

"Ambedkar would destroy each SIM card after trapping a victim," said a police official. The police managed to crack seven cases in Manickpur, Shahpur, Palghar, Kasa, Dahanu, Naupada, and Nashik. Ambedkar was booked under IPC section 420 for cheating and is under police custody.

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