Mumbai Police have arrested a woman accused of cheating an investor of Rs25 lakh by falsely promising affordable flats under the Mhada housing scheme. The accused, identified as Bhakti Akshay Khandarkar (42), was already lodged in Byculla Women’s Jail in connection with another cheating case when police traced her involvement in this fraud.
The victim, a resident of Sion, was searching for a low-cost home when he came in contact with Khandu Baban Kashid (now deceased) and his son Ganesh Kashid, residents of Sion Koliwada. The duo showed him several flats in Mhada buildings located in Wadala and Worli.
After finalising a one-room kitchen flat in a Mhada building near the Century Mill compound in Worli, the Kashids claimed they could secure the flat through their “contacts” in the Mhada quota. Between cash, cheques, and online transfers, they allegedly collected Rs15.7 lakh from the victim.
In 2023, the accused informed the victim that his allotment process was progressing but demanded additional money. At this stage, they introduced him to Bhakti Khandarkar and another accomplice, Yuvraj Bhakte, who together extracted an additional Rs10 lakh.
During the investigation, police tracked the financial trail and found that Rs9 lakh had been credited directly into Khandarkar’s bank account. When officers attempted to locate her, they discovered she had already been arrested by DB Marg Police in a separate cheating case.
Following this, investigators obtained a production warrant from the court and formally arrested Khandarkar in the present case. Further investigation is ongoing to identify other possible victims and accomplices.
