Man poses as Asst. Charity commissioner; dupes another for Rs 20,000

A 52-year-old man was arrested by the Dadar police for posing as an Assistant Charity commissioner and cheating a Dadar-based trustee. The accused identified as Kishor Tandel committed the crime as he was in need of money. He was arrested from Sion Koliwada on Saturday evening.

According to an officer, on October 25, 2018, Shekhar Pathare, age 69, a social worker and one of the officials at Nanabhai Foundation received a call around 3:30 pm at home from a person who identified himself as the 'Assistant Charity commissioner' Shree Abhyankar. He asked Shekhar if he could help his driver who needed money in order for his kidney surgery.

Tandel was very confident while talking to Pathare over the phone and also asked him to transfer Rs 20 thousand to his driver's bank account. However, Pathare wanted to verify the patient's documents before transferring any money. Upon this, Tandel asked him to visit the charity commissioner's office on Monday but requested for Rs 10-thousand transfer on the spot. After Pathare did so, Tandel forced him to transfer another Rs 10 thousand more.

Pathare felt something was fishy and after he visited the office in Worli, he realised that there was no individual by the name of Shree Abhayankar and he was cheated.

He then contacted the Dadar police station and lodged an FIR against the accused following which the cops tracked the accused's address in Thane. Upon reaching the spot, they realised that the individual living there was an 88-year-old senior citizen who identified him as Kishor Tandel's father. He also revealed to the police that his son was kicked out of the house.

Following that, the police located his whereabouts in Sion by tracking his mobile. A team was dispatched and they arrested him. Tandel was booked under sections 419 and 420 of Indian Penal Code and he was remanded in police custody till 6 February 6.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates