 Mangesh Bhoir Mild-mannered Mangesh Bhoir (24), who stands no more than five feet tall and weighs just 40 kg does not make likely hero material. But that didnt stop him from fearlessly pouncing on a con man in a bank and subduing him till help arrived and the criminal was handed over to police.
Bhoir, a peon in a chartered accountancy firm, was standing in a queue in the Santa Cruz branch of the State Bank of India on Monday morning, when smooth-talking and deft-handed criminal Naushad Jaffrey (33) conned him out of Rs 5,000.
Bhoir was there to get a bank draft to pay the annual school fees of his bosss children. A well-dressed Jaffrey approached him and claimed the bank would not accept his money if it was not in the required order.
He convinced me to hand him the money so that he could arrange it in the proper sequence. After a few minutes of shuffling the cash, he returned it to me. A couple of minutes later, however, when I counted the cash again, I discovered Rs 5,000 was missing, said Bhoir.
Keeping his cool, Bhoir scanned the immediate area and spotted Jaffery making a quiet exit. Mustering all the courage he had, Bhoir leapt onto Jaffreys back and held on with all his might.
His cries attracted the attention of the banks security guard, who came to his help. Jaffrey was overpowered and then handed to the police.
Bhoir said after being caught, Jaffery denied taking the money, and also produced his voting card as if it was some sort of character certificate.
Sub-inspector Raghunath Mahale, the investigating officer, said the money was found in Jaffreys shirtsleeve cuff. The cheat had dexterous hands. He managed to hide so many notes in his shirt right in front of his victim in a matter of seconds, he said.
Anita Chavan, senior inspector, Santa Cruz police station, said Jaffery was involved in at least two more cases in her jurisdiction involving similar frauds. We found Jaffery may have links with a gang of cheats called Baluchis. They make a living by robbing innocent people of their money by playing similar tricks.
Meanwhile, Bhoir has become a hero in his office. We call him brave for catching a cheat almost twice his size, said a colleague. Even his boss expressed surprise at Bhoirs heroic deed.
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