Accused introduced himself as a cardiac surgeon to his victims and cheated them on pretext of securing admissions for their children at Sydney University
A con artist from Delhi, who came to Mumbai in January, was nabbed by officials from the Bhandup police station for duping his landlord and an ex-serviceman of Rs 3.44 lakh.
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| Siddiq M A |
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The accused, who introduced himself as cardiac surgeon Dr Siddiq M A to his victims, was arrested from his rented apartment on February 13. He was booked for cheating the duo by promising admissions for their children at Sydney University.
Speaking to mid-day, ex-serviceman Matthew Jacob said, “I was introduced to Siddiq by a friend in the second week of January. Siddiq told me that his father, Dr Abdul Rehman, has been an Australian citizen for the last 40 years and could help me secure a full scholarship for my son at the Sydney University.”
Jacob added that a few weeks after their meeting, Siddiq sent him an air ticket and an admission letter from the university bearing his son’s name. A graduate, Jacob’s son was looking for admission in a defence management course. “A few days later, he asked us to pay R3.10 lakh, and said he would need another Rs 2.5 lakh later.
Days went by, but we didn’t receive any conformation e-mail from the university. This made us suspicious and we decided to verify the admission letter and check Siddiq’s credentials. To our dismay, the letter was forged. Even the Indian Medical Council (IMC) claimed that no doctor by the name of Siddiq M A was registered with them.
Upon realising that we’d been duped to the tune of R3.10 lakh, we approached the Bhandup police and filed a written complaint against Siddiq on February 8,” he said. During questioning, Siddiq revealed that he had come to Mumbai from Delhi in the first week of January and rented a flat owned by Nilind Kulkarni in Bhandup (E).
He had told Kulkarni that he had come to the city to keep a tab on his properties a couple of flats at Navi Mumbai and businesses, including a shop at the airport and a railway catering business. Officials said that Siddiq had approached Kulkarni with the offer of securing a seat for his daughter at the Sydney University, for which he took Rs 34,000.
Copspeak
API Nitin Gije from Bhandup police station said, “Investigation revealed that Siddiq originally hails from Kerala and worked as a radio cab driver in Delhi before coming to Mumbai. While scrutinising his documents, it came to the fore that the driving licence he possessed was fake. While it is confirmed that he duped Kulkarni and Jacob, investigation is on to unearth his previous victims, if any.”
“It was Kulkarni who introduced Siddiq to Jacob. We arrested Siddiq on February 13 and presented him in the Bhoiwada Holiday Court on Saturday, which remanded him in police custody till February 16. Further investigation is on,” said Gije.
Siddiq was booked under Sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code.
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