Man held for mobile phone theft jumps off 2nd floor of Mumbai police station, lands in hospital

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A 25-year-old man, held for theft, jumped from the second floor of a Mumbai police station during interrogation and landed in hospital with injuries, an official said on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI.

The incident took place on late Tuesday night after he was caught by police on suspicion of mobile phone theft, he said.

According to the official, the man, identified as Samir Arif Siddique, was brought to the Kandivali police station for interrogation, reported PTI.

During the interrogation, the suspect suddenly jumped from the detection room located on the second floor of the Mumbai police station building, he said, reported PTI.

Siddique suffered fractures on his hand and is undergoing treatment at state-run JJ Hospital in central Mumbai, said the official, reported PTI.

In another case, Mumbai Police's crime branch claimed to have busted an inter-state gang by arresting three men who allegedly duped businessmen of several lakhs by arranging meetings in posh hotels under the pretext of offering them business opportunities, an official said on Wednesday, reported PTI.

The gang members used to contact potential targets and convince them to come for a 'business' meeting to clinch attractive deals.

The accused persons are identified as Majib Abdul Khan alias Mannu (44), a resident of Uttar Pradesh, Mayank Pradeep Sharma alias Laddu (22), a resident of Delhi, and Akash Dwarkaprasad Agrawal alias Kabir (19), who lives in Thane, the official said, adding that some more persons were involved in the crime, reported PTI.

They were arrested by Unit 8 of the Mumbai Crime Branch, he said.

The fraud came to light when a businessman from Mumbai was allegedly cheated by the gang of USD 25,000 (Rs 21 lakh) on February 27, the official said.

"One of the three members of the gang had contacted the businessman saying he works in the film business and required USD 25,000 to send actors abroad. He called the businessman to a five-star hotel on February 27 and took him to a room. After collecting money, the accused person pretended to have received a call on his mobile phone and walked out of the room," he said quoting the FIR, reported PTI.

Subsequently, the accused person stopped attending the calls of the businessman, the official said.

Realising that he was cheated, the victim lodged a complaint with Vakola police station and a case was registered on the charge of cheating.

During the investigation, the crime branch found that the gang had cheated businessmen in other cities also by luring them with the promise of business deals, the official said.

"In one such case, a forex trader was duped of Rs 30 lakh on January 25 in the Mumbai Airport area," he said, reported PTI.

The crime branch sleuths traced the trio using technical analysis and traditional investigation, he said.

"Their interrogation unravelled the network of the inter-state gang. Efforts are on to nab the remaining members of the gang," the official added, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)