Heavy deposit flats: New modus of fraudsters in Mumbai

Victims Hasteshwar Dhotre, Rakhee Naik, Sangeeta Kokre with activist Aaftab Siddique

Scamsters have now resorted to heavy deposit rental agreements and allegedly duped several families, all of them from economically weak backgrounds. As per the victims, the accused would offer them flats for a one-time security deposit ranging to several lakhs which is returnable at the end of the tenure. However, the accused, who took the same flats on a monthly rent basis from the homeowners, stopped making the payment, which led to the landlords evicting the victims.

The victims added that when they approached the accused, they allegedly issued cheques for the deposited amount, but all of the cheques bounced. This scam first came to light in April this year when Rakhee Naik, a housekeeper, lodged a complaint with Khar police against Diwaker Rane, Sachin Jadhav and Santosh Dasgaokar. The cops filed an FIR against the trio for cheating and criminal breach of trust on April 20 and started an investigation.

A cheque issued by the accused that bounced along with the note issued by the bank

Naik, who lives with her physically challenged husband and two children, told mid-day, "Jadhav promised me a flat in Khar for a term of three years for a heavy deposit amount of Rs 5.5 lakh. However, he stopped paying the monthly rent of Rs 15,000 to the landlord after two years, rendering us homeless." Rakhee added that after she approached the police, Rane and Jadhav issued cheques of Rs 5.5 lakh to her and Rs 3 lakh to her sister Shenali Vadkar, but all of these bounced due to insufficient funds.

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Naik now lives in a rented room on the outskirts of Mumbai without even basic amenities and has to travel for at least 6 hours each day. After this case was filed, more people approached the cops complaining about similar incidents, which indicates that the scam might run into crores of rupees.

The Khar police have so far registered four FIRs and are in the process of scrutinising many other complaints. Investigating Officer API Gokul Bhoir from Khar police station said they are looking into all the complaints. He added that of the three accused, Rane was arrested earlier this year and is currently out on bail.

Among the other victims are brothers Satish and Hasteshwar Dhotre. While Satish and his family were forced to move back to their father's 360-sqft SRA flat which now accommodates six people Hasteshwar had to shift to Virar with his wife and five children. The brothers said they were duped of Rs 5.5 and Rs 7 lakh, respectively, as the cheque issued by Jadhav bounced.

Sachin Jadhav, an accused

"Today my family is on the road and I have a debt of Rs 1.5 lakh. I can only afford the school fees of only one of my five kids. The situation is so bad that my daughter has not been able to collect her school leaving certificate after SSC due to unpaid fees of Rs 26,000," said Satish. The story is the same for Sangeeta Kokre, who lost Rs 6.6 lakh in a similar manner.

Activist Aaftab Siddique, who is helping the victims lodge complaints, said, "I accidentally found Rakhee weeping outside Khar police station and what happened next was like opening the Pandora's Box, with new cases of human tragedy pouring out by the dozen. There is a probability of a money laundering angle in the case, as huge cash transactions are involved."