Milk scam: Parel residents lose Rs 3 lakh as vendor vanishes

Residents of around 200 flats in Crescent Bay Towers say milkman disappeared with money paid in advance; urge cops to register FIR

A large number of residents of Parel’s upscale L&T Crescent Bay complex, which comprises six towers of around 250 flats each, have filed a complaint at the RAK Marg police station as a milk vendor—Sarfaraz (surname unavailable)—who had been paid in advance for providing his services to numerous flats, has been untraceable for a fortnight.

Sarfaraz, the milk vendor 

They all said, “This is a concerning incident that has impacted our community and potentially several neighbouring societies. This vendor, operating in Crescent Bay, has allegedly absconded after collecting advance payments from residents for milk. Initial estimates show that residents have lost approximately R3 lakh collectively. Yet, we are sure the number will go up. The vendor accepted payments via Google Pay and cash in exchange for milk coupons. We follow the common practice of buying a booklet of milk coupons, paying in advance for the same. Sarfaraz had been supplying milk here since last year. All seemed to be going well when suddenly, he has been unreachable since March 1, leaving residents high and dry. We continue gathering data from affected individuals, (we have started a signature campaign urging those who have been scammed to sign up) so that the scale of the fraud becomes clearer in the coming days."

Lit-up L&T Crescent Bay complex in Parel

FIR please

The Crescent Bay residents have formed a group and filed a consolidated complaint to the RAK Marg police station. The complaint is dated March 8. Residents Hina Ghosh, Vineet Kaul and Lalit Shah said, “Given the number of potential victims, we believe this issue deserves urgent attention from law enforcement.” Senior Police Inspector Sandeep Randive of RAK Marg police station acknowledged that he had received a complaint and stated, “Some of the residents came to the police station on Thursday [March 13], too, to follow up. I will be sending my officer to the building today [Saturday, March 15] for further investigations into the matter and for recording statements.”

Stay alert

Residents Hina Ghosh, Vineet Kaul, Prabhakar Awalegaonkar, Karan Sareen and Swapna Rani who were at the RAK Marg police station on Thursday to press the officers into filing a first information report (FIR) based on their complaint said, “We have met the senior inspector and urged him to file an FIR under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. This is not just about the amount, which is considerable anyway and we are quite sure will swell, given that we are still collecting data. There are a number of high-rises near Crescent Bay too, we do not know if he has been supplying milk there and vanished just like here. This is a wake-up call. We want to raise awareness in all high-rises where something similar could happen. Several residents thought we should patronise smaller vendors rather than big food/grocery delivery companies. We did so, only to be allegedly duped.” Resident Himanshu Kapadia added, “In societies, newspaper, milk and vegetable vendors are like residents’ extended family. It is shocking that this kind of scam has taken place. We tried to encourage locals but are left with no choice but to opt for delivery apps. All regular vendors should be registered, like it is mandated for house help, with the police station closest to their area of supply.”
This paper tried to contact ‘Sarfaraz’ but he remained unreachable.

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