Accomplice of serial fraudster gives Mumbai police the slip for over a year

“Saha was Rizvi’s accomplice. They would sit together and look for women on social media who could be duped,” said the officer. “In our attempt to trace Saha, we had sent a team to Delhi, but she managed to escape. In another instance, she managed to give the slip to a police team that was sent to Uttar Pradesh to look for her,” the officer added.

The police said that Saha’s arrest will help them ascertain the number of people that the two have duped so far.

“Rizvi would pose as an Intelligence Bureau or Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer and initiate a conversation with a woman. Once they start dating, he would take money from the woman and flee,” said an officer.

Before his arrest by the Dongri police, Rizvi had posed as a joint commissioner in ED before a woman and promised to help raise Rs 2.5 crore for her NGO. The two met in early 2016 and after taking money from the woman, Rizvi fled.

Rizvi had also been booked for duping an IPS officer in Lucknow. According to a complaint filed by the IPS officer’s wife, a high court advocate, Rizvi had posed as a builder and, under the pretext of helping them buy a flat at a cheaper rate, duped them of Rs 24.5 lakh.

“The two accused had also conned several investors from Dubai of Rs 9 crore,” the officer said.