The Byculla police on Wednesday arrested four men in connection with a plot to cheat a businessman’s son by posing as officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The police said the plot was conceived by a friend of the victim, who knew his father had a thriving business.
According to the Byculla police, the victim, Juzer Sangothwala (19), runs a snooker and video games centre in Mazagon.
The police said that on Sunday, two men claiming to be CBI officers came to the centre and told him that he would have to accompany them for inquiries in connection with a case that they were investigating.
They allegedly forced Sangothwala inside a Mahindra Xylo car with a sign saying ‘Police’ on its windshield. After driving for some time, they pulled over and told Sangothwala that they had information about him being involved in smuggling of gold as well as cocaine, and demanded Rs 10 lakh from him in exchange for letting him go.
Police Inspector Nandkumar Gopale of the Byculla police station, said: “Sangothwala was scared and pleaded with the accused but they threatened him with all sorts of legal action. Subequently, Sangothwala said he would ask his father to arrange for the money, but the accused told him to seek help from his friends instead. They asked him to name his close friends, and Sangothwala named several, including Talah Qureshi. The accused called up Qureshi, and asked him to come with Rs 10 lakh.”
Unknown to Sangothwala, Qureshi was the one who had masterminded the plot. Qureshi reached the spot where Sangothwala and the ‘CBI officers’ were waiting.
Mr. Gopale said: “He came with a bundle wrapped in newspaper, which he handed over to the ‘CBI officers’, telling them that it was Rs 10 lakh in cash. In reality, he had wrapped a large packet of biscuits inside the newspaper. The kidnappers left with the ‘money’ after which Qureshi told Sangothwala that he needed to be reimbursed quickly. As security for the money, Qureshi took the keys to Sangothwala’s Skoda car and left.”
The next day, Qureshi met Sangothwala’s father, an import-export businessman, and told him that he had ‘saved’ his son from being implicated in a smuggling case by paying Rs 10 lakh, and demanded to be reimbursed, failing which he would sell the Skoda car. Sangothwala’s father became suspicious and approached the police.
Another officer with the Byculla police said: “We made inquires with Qureshi and found his responses to be suspicious, after which we questioned him at length. He finally confessed to have engineered the plot, and based on his questioning, we arrested the other three accused.”
The ‘CBI officials’ have been identified as Anup Singh and Mastan Sheikh, while the third accused, Milal Maleem, kept a watch on Sangothwala, and provided information about his movements to the other three accused, the police said.
The victim was approached by the culprits at his snooker and video games centre
