21 June,2026 10:59 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
According to the police, the accused had been wanted in similar cases for the past 12 years in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh. PIC/MUMBAI POLICE
The Sir JJ Marg Police in Mumbai have arrested a 51-year-old alleged fraudster who was wanted in multiple cheating cases across five states and had been absconding for over a decade, the police said in a press release on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Abid Yusuf Ansari, was arrested in connection with a case registered at Sir JJ Marg Police Station in 2024 for allegedly cheating a 53-year-old complainant of Rs 42 lakh on the promise of securing MBBS admission for his son at a medical college in Thane.
According to police, the complainant, Vishnu Ratna Gudekar, alleged that Ansari had taken Rs 42 lakh from him after claiming he could facilitate admission to Rajiv Gandhi Medical College in Kalwa.
When the admission failed to materialise, a case was registered under sections related to cheating, criminal breach of trust, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
During the investigation, the police discovered that Ansari was a habitual offender and had been wanted in similar cases for the past 12 years in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh.
The police said the accused had been declared an absconder by a court in Jalgaon in connection with a cheating case and frequently changed locations to evade arrest. Police teams tracked his movements for nearly six months using technical surveillance, intelligence inputs, and information from confidential sources.
Investigators travelled to several locations, including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Lonavala, and Mahabaleshwar, in search of the accused. However, he allegedly avoided detection by frequently shifting hideouts and never staying at one location for long.
Police later received information that Ansari, who was being tracked by Uttarakhand Police as well, had moved from Mahabaleshwar and was hiding in a residential building in Mumbai's Agripada area.
Acting on the tip-off, a team led by Sub-Inspector Prashant Nerkar conducted surveillance and, after a six-hour operation involving disguises and covert monitoring, apprehended the accused from the building.
Police said preliminary investigations revealed that Ansari is wanted in at least 18 to 20 similar cheating cases across different states. These include cases registered in Mumbai, other parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh.
Officials suspect that more victims may have been duped using the same modus operandi of promising admissions to professional courses in exchange for large sums of money. Further investigations are underway to identify additional complainants and uncover the full extent of the alleged fraud network.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of senior officers of the Sir JJ Marg Police Station and the Dongri Division.
