The Panvel City police have arrested three men for allegedly cheating a group of migrant workers of ₹1,000 by promising them seats on a special train to their hometowns.
The trio approached nine people coming from Vadghar in Panvel taluka and 14 others who had walked from Dapoli in Ratnagiri district, at Panvel railway station. The accused have been identified as Hassan Yakub Sayyed (45), an unemployed man from Vadghar; Raghavendra Rameshwar Gupta (33) a hawker from Navnathnagar; and, Irfan Ibrahim Mahigir (42) a vegetable seller from Maaldhakka slum.
Senior police inspector Ajay Landge said, “Around 3 a.m. on Friday, our team at the railway station noticed three men collecting money from a group and noting down details of the travellers. Upon enquiring, the team learnt that the accused had asked for ₹1000 from one group, promising them seats on a special train going to Bihar. Before they could demand money from another group, they were arrested.”
The migrant workers were later guided to their train by the police. Migrants do not need to pay anything for tickets for the special trains.
The accused were arrested under Sections 420 (cheating), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act, Maharashtra COVID-19 regulations, and National Disaster Management Act.
