Two conmen tell Mumbai college lecturer he is accused in murder case, try to extort money

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Two persons, including a 60-year-old man, were arrested for allegedly kidnapping a Mumbai college lecturer and trying to extort money on the pretext of a fake murder case, a Mumbai police official said on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

Manoj Dashrath Gupta (60) and Mulayam Birbal Yadav (27) approached Sagar Suresh Fadnavis (44) on Saturday night and told the Mumbai college lecturer a murder case was registered against him in Borivali police station, the official said, reported PTI.

"The duo called the victim for interrogation. They made him sit in an autorickshaw and started robbing him. However, constable Parmeshwar Chavhan, who was passing by, saw the incident. He blocked the autorickshaw, spoke to the victim and brought Gupta and Yadav to Kandivali police station," he said, reported PTI.

"Gupta, who has some 20 cases against his name, and Yadav were arrested under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 365 (kidnapping), 389 (putting person in fear or accusation of offence to commit extortion), 170 (personating a public servant), the official said.

In another case, police investigating the firing incident in Mumbai's Antop Hill area wherein a man was seriously injured last week have arrested the wife of the accused shooter, who is on the run, and his friend, an official said on Monday, reported PTI.

Parveen, the wife of the shooter and history-sheeter Vivek Shettiyar, and his close friend Parag Gohil were arrested on Sunday under the charge of criminal conspiracy, a day after the incident, the official said, reported PTI.

The exact motive behind the firing and the role of Parveen is being investigated while a search is on to trace Shettiyar, he said.

Shettiyar had allegedly barged into the house of Akash Swami (30) and fired at him with a country-made pistol, leaving him seriously injured, police said, reported PTI.

"Our investigation revealed that Shettiyar had multiple cases pending against him. Two to three cases were also registered against the victim," the official said.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old man from Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra allegedly lost Rs 4.92 lakh after being lured with high returns in the trading of shares, police said on Monday, reported PTI.

The police have registered an FIR in this connection against an unidentified person.

The accused contacted the victim, resident of Koproli in Panvel area and employed with an airline, between November 1 and 3 last year and lured him to indulge in shares trading while promising him high returns, reported PTI.

The victim subsequently invested Rs 4,92,000 in shares through the accused, an official from Navin Panvel police station said, reported PTI.

When he sought returns and the invested amount, the accused demanded an additional sum of Rs 8 lakh for facilitating benefits of Rs 1.29 crore to him.

Sensing deception, the victim refused to comply, following which the accused threatened him with the forfeiture of both the invested amount and returns, the official said, reported PTI.

The victim approached the police with a complaint, based on which an FIR was registered under relevant provisions on Monday, he added.

(With inputs from PTI)