Father-son duo held for ‘duping’ 2 people of Rs 1.15 crore: Mumbai police

The Mumbai police have arrested a father-son duo for allegedly duping an Andheri-based businessman after promising him flats at cheap rates. Police said the complainant, Suresh Kothari, as well as his relative, were duped to the tune of Rs 1.15 crore. “Around six years ago, one of Kothari’s friends informed him that the accused duo were constructing a residential building at JB Nagar in Andheri east. The complainant then went to the plot and checked the area, along with his relative,” an officer from the Andheri police station said. Both the complainants booked a one-bedroom flat and a two-bedroom flat, at Rs 88 lakh and Rs 1.22 crore, respectively.

“Later, they were informed that the builder had never booked a flat in their names. Instead, the accused reinvested their money on something else, following which they approached police and handed in a complaint application with the police station,” an officer said. Investigators said the complainant kept on insisting that the accused register the agreements for the flats, but the duo kept delaying deliberately. “Some of the money was also paid in cash, while the rest was paid through banking transactions,” said an officer. After conducting preliminary investigations, a case was registered in February with the Andheri police station.

Later, during the course of their investigations, police found the location of the accused duo and arrested them for alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust. The accused were identified as 73-year-old Arun Zaveri and his 41-year-old son Chintan Zaveri, both residents of JVPD. They were produced in court and later remanded in judicial custody. The investigators said they were trying to ascertain whether the duo had duped other flat buyers as well. Senior Police Inspector Pandit Thorat, from the Andheri police station, confirmed the arrest and said further investigations were ongoing.