Man poses as tenant, ‘rents’ out flat to 5 at a time, pockets Rs 3 lakh

Upale added that Gunja, posing as Abhijit Sawant, met the victim at his Thane home on February 16 to seal a rent deal. The police said he was accompanied by another man named Ashish Singh. “Sawant agreed to pay a deposit of Rs 1 lakh and a monthly rent of Rs 20,000. He gave the victim a cheque for Rs 20,000, but told him to deposit it only when he said so. Sawant also said that he would complete the registration on March 1, but before leaving asked to be given the keys to the house as he wanted to show it to his wife,” Upale said.

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Sawant, however, allegedly posted an advertisement on realty websites offering the house on rent. “After posting ads online, Sawant was contacted by five people. Since he had the keys, he showed the house to each of them, struck agreements and pocketed Rs 3.17 lakh,” Upale said.

The victim, meanwhile, allegedly had neither received the money nor any news on the registration of his flat on March 1. “He called up Sawant and asked when he would pay. Sawant said he would meet the victim in Malad on March 9, but cancelled at the last minute, saying that he would transfer the money online,” Upale said.

Soon after, the victim received another call on March 9 from a person inquiring whether he was the owner of a flat in Urbania Acura. The caller had allegedly agreed to lease the flat from Sawant but became suspicious when Sawant did not register the agreement. After making inquiries in the building, he managed to get the victim’s phone number. The victim panicked and went to Thane on March 10, only to find five men standing outside the house. “All five said that a man named Kevin Menezes posed as the flat’s owner and leased it to them for Rs 20,000 a month,” he said.

A case was then registered at Rabodi police station, and Gunja was picked up from his Diva residence following a tip-off.

srinath.rao@expressindia.com