Mumbai: Mother-daughter duo pose as shipyard owners, cheat Andheri business of Rs 1.3 cr – Times Now

Mumbai: In yet another incident of fraud, an Andheri businessman was duped of Rs 1.3 cr by a mother-daughter duo in Maharashtra capital Mumbai.

The accused have now been arrested by Mumbai police. The businessman Sushant Shelatkar has paid the amount to the accused to buy a tugboat and a barge vessel. The dealing was made in June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The accused have been identified as 52-year-old Ragini Khandelwal and her 22-year-old daughter Mansi, according to a report in Times of India. 

A case was lodged by Sushant at Andheri police station against the duo. The accused are said to have cheated multiple people including a politician by showing the hull of the vessel. 

Padma Shelatkar, the wife of the businessman, alleged that the duo has cheated several people of Rs 14 cr by selling them the same hull.

In his police complaint, the businessman stated that he made an inquiry with a website in June 2018 about tugboats and barge manufacturers.

“After two days I got a call from a man identified as Amir Khan. He told me that one Khandelwal, who was known to him, is involved in shipping vessel business,” Sushant said.    

In October 2020, Sushant was called for a meeting with the accused. The duo-Raghini Khandelwal and her daughter-claimed they are the directors of a company called owners of Shree Tirupati Balaji company and owns shipyard at Ganesh Ghat at Kalyan. 

Modus Operandi

The mother-daughter showed Sushant a vessel and convinced him about their expertise in making vessels as per the requirements of the clients. Soon after the businessman paid them money. Later, Sushant realised that he was cheated by them. Apart from Sushant, the duo also duped another man named Ravi Jaising, who made a deal with the duo in 2018. 

The police took action against the accused after the two victims met Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.