Love, sex aur dhokha: 14 senior citizens fall prey to seducer

Accused Geeta Patel

A 40-year-old Mira Road woman has been arrested for conning and looting over 14 senior citizens.

The woman, identified as Geeta Patel, had a unique modus operandi. She would roam in an expensive car, and target elderly men walking alone on the road. Once she had their attention, she'd try and seduce them, and take them to a vacant spot, where she would rob them of their valuables.

The incident came to light last week, when a 70-year-old Charkop resident was cheated by Patel, and lost his gold chain and other valuables. He approached the Charkop police station and reported the incident to the duty officer.

According to the police, on the day of the incident, the victim was walking towards his home after depositing money into his bank, when he was approached by Patel. She started crying, and claimed that she was being tortured by her husband. When the man seemed to take pity on her, she told him that her husband was not sexually gratifying her, and asked the victim, if he'd spend time with her. They then took an auto-rickshaw and went to an under-construction building site. On reaching, she forcibly snatched his gold chain and money, and warned the victim that if he resisted, she'd make a noise, and accuse him of rape.

Following the complaint, Senior Inspector Manohar Shinde and PSI Vitthan Gole of the Charkop Police began their investigation. On checking the CCTV footage, they traced a Ford Vista used by the accused.

They then sent it to various police stations, and finally, received information about the woman being a habitual offender, who had 14 cases against her. Her son would also often roam with her in the car.

Last week, the police laid a trap near her home and caught Patel and her son Pankaj . They were booked under Section 420 of IPC and were produced before the court, where they were remanded to police custody.