Two men held for duping three firms of Rs 34 lakh

According to Mumbai police crime branch, the accused, identified as Tejprasad Mishra (31) and Sachin Mishra (31), adopted a unique modus operandi and escaped with valuables. So far, the crime branch Unit XII has come across three similar crimes committed by the accused.

Some more people are suspected to be involved in the crime, Additional Police Commissioner (Crime) Niket Kaushik said. M R P Loddha Association, which has its account in Canara Bank, had been cheated to the tune of Rs 13.75 lakh in June and a case was registered in Azad maidan police station in south Mumbai.

Sink Solutions Pvt Ltd, which has its bank account in NKGSB co-operative bank, was duped of Rs 5.50 lakh in April and a case was registered in Jogeshwari police station. Another company Jai Enterprises Pvt Ltd, which has an account in Dena Bank, was cheated to the tune of Rs 15.12 lakh and an FIR was registered in N M Joshi Marg police station.

Explaining the modus operandi adopted in Loddha Association case, inspector Milind Khetle said, "The accused managed to get hold of a person, who collects cheques from various drop boxes in the city on a daily basis.

Stating that they were conducting a survey, the accused asked the person to show some cheques. "Among these cheques, the accused had come across the Association cheque and they took the details and photos of the cheque. The cheques' collector is paid some amount for the favour by the accused."u00a0