Mumbai: Man held for duping widows with job offers and looting them

The Matunga police have arrested a history-sheeter who duped women of their jewellery on the pretext of offering them jobs. According to police sources, he has duped over two-dozen women, most of them widows

Pravin Ramkrishna Sakpal

The Matunga police have arrested a history-sheeter who duped women of their jewellery on the pretext of offering them jobs. According to police sources, he has duped over two-dozen women, most of them widows. The accused, identified as Pravin Ramkrishna Sakpal (37), a resident of Vidyavihar, operated mainly in central Mumbai.

Modus operandi
A police officer said, "Sakpal told the women that he would take them to some employer on his two-wheeler. He would then tell them to take off all their ornaments and hand it over to him for safekeeping, after which he would flee with them." The police believe more victims may approach them in the coming days.

Under scanner
According to the police, Sakpal was on the police radar for long. Recently, when the Matunga police were scanning CCTV footage, they found that the same bike was used in two similar offences. Investigators zeroed in on Sakpal after they obtained the registration details of the vehicle. The police nabbed him on Friday from Vidyavihar after they received a tip-off about his whereabouts.

Arrest was important
Police said that Sakpal's arrest was crucial, as he was a professional criminal and had been named in 24 cases since 2013. "Sakpal would mainly target middle-aged women, mostly widows," said assistant inspector Mukund Yadav of Matunga police station.

Yadav added, "He would offer jobs to women, especially widows, and give them a lift on bike. After winning the woman's trust, he would ask them to take off their jewellery and keep them in their bag. He would tie the bag on his bike handle while the woman would sit pillion. After going some distance, Sakpal would stop and on the pretext of parking the bike in the parking lot he would disappear."ith their jewellery

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