Mumbai: Serial conman arrested for cheating senior citizen

Serial conman Vijay Tambe has a host of diseases

The Vishnu Nagar police in Dombivli have arrested a 55-year-old conman who cheated people by posing as a nephew of an MLA. The police said the accused has a criminal past of almost three decades and he is booked in over 50 cases.

According to the police, the accused, Vijay Dattaram Tambe, 55, is a resident of Bhiwandi in Thane and is booked in cheating cases across Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mira- Bhayandar area. "The accused was arrested from Navi Mumbai on a tip-off and he was taken into custody," said Sanjay Pawar, senior police inspector, Vishnu Nagar police station.

A case was registered at Vishnu Nagar police station where a 75-year-old senior citizen was cheated of gold worth Rs 50,000 and Rs 10,000 in cash. "The victim was approached by the accused who claimed to be a nephew of an MLA and began interacting with him. After pretending to be caring, Tambe convinced the victim to take care of the valuables as there was a huge crowd ahead. Tambe then convinced the victim to hand over the valuables and cash and keep it safe in a handkerchief. Before the victim realised, Tambe with a sleight of hand took away the cash and gold.

Vijay Tambe was arrested by the Vishnu Nagar police, Dombivli

"After the case was registered we scrutinised the CCTV footage and traced the accused to Navi Mumbai. He was arrested and is currently in police custody for three days. He along with his accomplice has been defrauding people since 1995 and has more than 50 cases across the MMR region," added Pawar.

The police said that Vijay cheated many people along with his accomplice by claiming to be the nephew of the MLA. Further investigation is being conducted by police sub-inspector Deepvijay Bhawar.

"During the investigation, we asked him about the stolen jewellery and cash but he is not ready to reveal the whereabouts. Also he has multiple diseases and yet he keeps committing some crime or the other. Due to his illness, we can't be harsh on him to uncover more details about his modus and the cash that he stole," said a police officer.

During the course of the investigation, the police found that the accused is presently absconding in eight cases registered at DN Nagar, Dombivli, Sahar, Nizampura, RAK Marg and Mahim. "The accused will be taken into custody by other police stations as he has been wanted in several crimes," said a police officer.