Arrest cracks four cases, police recover all ill-gotten valuables, say more victims may come forth
Rahul Kanhaiya Solanki (head covered) in the custody of the Mumbai Crime Branch. PICS/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Unit VI of the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 30-year-old who led a gang involved in a series of cheating cases across Mumbai and Thane, where unsuspecting victims — mostly senior citizens — were duped into parting with their gold ornaments in exchange for fake cash bundles.
On September 25, around 1.50 pm, two men approached a woman on CG Gidwani Marg in Chembur. They engaged her in friendly conversation, claiming they had found a bundle of money wrapped in a blue handkerchief. The men convinced the woman to remove her gold mangalsutra as “surety” before handing her the supposed cash — only for her to discover later that the bundle contained waste paper.
A blue handkerchief containing scraps of paper, which the accused claimed was full of money
A case was then registered under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Chembur police station, and Crime Branch Unit VI officers traced and arrested the prime accused, Rahul Kanhaiya Solanki, a resident of Dwarali Pada, Kalyan.
A detailed probe revealed that Solanki was the ringleader of a cheating syndicate operating across the greater Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar Commissionerates. So far, four cases have been cracked in connection with his network — at Chembur, Pant Nagar, Kanjurmarg and Kalwa.
The accused had been booked in similar cheating cases at the Bhiwandi, Kolsewadi, and Badlapur police stations between 2018 and 2021.
Police said the accused targeted elderly citizens, often pretending to have found a cash bundle and persuading victims to hand over their gold as surety before vanishing with the ornaments. According to the police the modus operandi is referred to as ‘muttha kaam’.
“The gang used emotional manipulation and false assurances to gain trust. The operation has not only solved four major cases but also led to the recovery of stolen valuables,” said Bharat Ghone, senior police inspector of Crime Branch Unit VI. He also added that the arrested accused is a member of Bawari Samaj, a notorious inter-state gang known for violent robberies and burglaries. Officials said more victims may come forward as the probe continues.
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