Borivali police on Wednesday arrested Bherudas Baludas Vaishnav (40) for allegedly cheating a jeweller of Rs31.5 lakh using forged documents. The police are currently searching for his accomplice, Shrikant Shankar Chittapillai (34), the director of a private credit cooperative society in Bhivandi, to investigate whether the duo committed similar frauds earlier.
According to the police, Vaishnav forged documents claiming he had taken a Rs31.5 lakh loan by mortgaging 562 grams of gold ornaments. On June 30, Vaishnav contacted the victim, Arjun Bothmal Singhvi, owner of Mahavir Jewellers in Borivali. He sent Singhvi the forged documents via WhatsApp and convinced him to pay the credit society Rs31.5 lakh to regain the gold, asking Singhvi to sell the gold and return any remaining balance to him.
On July 2, Singhvi’s associate accompanied Vaishnav to the credit society, where the director, Chittapillai, confirmed the loan. Following discussions, Singhvi transferred the money to Vaishnav via the RTGS method.
The police are continuing their investigation and searching for the accomplice.
