Nikhil SumanThe Marine Drive police has arrested the son of a Bahujan Vikas Aghadi corporator from Virar for allegedly approaching a man keen to sell his high-end phone on OLX and fleeing with the phone after pretending to make a National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) payment. The police identified the accused as Nikhil Suman, son of corporator Mamta Suman.
According to the police, a case of cheating was registered at the Marine Drive police station on January 10 this year. The victim, Sandeep Joshi, a research associate with a private bank, wanted to sell his iPhone 10s. “He accordingly uploaded the images on OLX in December last year after which Nikhil contacted him. He claimed that he wanted to buy the phone,” said an investigator.
The two first met on December 16 last year near Churchgate railway station. “Nikhil introduced himself as the son of a corporator to gain his confidence. He then showed eagerness to buy the phone and negotiated the amount. The complainant then agreed to sell it for Rs 58,000,” said an officer.
On December 21, the two met again near the restaurant Pizza by the Bay. The accused took the phone and also his bank account details. “He then showed a screenshot in which he claimed he had made the payment of Rs 58,000 using NEFT services. He further told Joshi that he would get the payment in the next two hours,” said an officer.
However, as soon as they left, Nikhil cancelled the payment, the police said. And when the complainant contacted him for payment, the accused claimed that the server was down and that he would get the money at the earliest.
The complainant made follow-ups for the payment for several days but later when he realised Nikhil had duped him, he approached the Marine Drive police station and lodged a complaint. A case was registered under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC. “We had been looking for the accused since then. He would keep changing his location,” said an investigator.
But on Friday, the police managed to trace him at his house in Virar and accordingly a team was sent and he was caught. The police said that the accused has been booked in seven other cases, where he allegedly duped hoteliers and jewellers. Nikhil was produced in court and remanded in police custody till November 25.