<img title="Accused Sanjiv Bajaj" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jan/28Sanjiv-Bajaj-1.jpg" alt="Accused Sanjiv Bajaj" /> Accused Sanjiv Bajaj
It's simple enough &mdash; look for the uneducated people at railway ticket cancellation counters and in the guise of helping them, jot down their details while filling out forms and then beat them to the cancellation window.
It's what Sanjiv Bajaj (38) had been employing to dupe people of their money, before he was nabbed yesterday after attempting the same shtick on 22-year-old Haidar Ali at the Kurla Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counter. Following his arrest by the Kurla RPF, a case was registered against him.
<img title="The accused feigns to help the victim by filling out his cancellation form as an accomplice also jots down all the details of the victim" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jan/28accused-1.jpg" alt="The accused feigns to help the victim by filling out his cancellation form as an accomplice also jots down all the details of the victim" /> The accused feigns to help the victim by filling out his cancellation form as an accomplice also jots down all the details of the victim
Modus operandi What's the exact game plan? Well, according to the police, Bajaj and his cohorts scout PRS counters at any crowded station, in this case the Dadar station. When they spotted Ali, Bajaj walked over and "helped" him fill the form by loudly dictating all details to an associate standing close by with his own form.
Then, distracting Ali for a split second, also managed to exchange his confirmed tickets with an already cancelled ticket so that when Ali gets to the window, there is no ticket to cancel.
<img title="After Bajaj hands over the form and exchanges the confirmed ticket for an already cancelled ticket, Ali waits for his turn in the queue at the Dadar station" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jan/28accused-2.jpg" alt="After Bajaj hands over the form and exchanges the confirmed ticket for an already cancelled ticket, Ali waits for his turn in the queue at the Dadar station" /> After Bajaj hands over the form and exchanges the confirmed ticket for an already cancelled ticket, Ali waits for his turn in the queue at the Dadar station
Meanwhile, Bajaj himself runs to the less-crowded Kurla station and awaits his turn. Unfortunately, as Ali is explaining his predicament to the counter official, the PNR in question is cancelled at the Kurla station and the officer is alerted to the scam.
He then calls his counterpart at Kurla, who informs the RPF and they manage to trap Bajaj before he can escape. Speaking to mid-day, Ali said, "I was there to cancel my Mumbai-Guwahati AC 3-tier ticket that cost R3,770 when this guy cheated me in the name of helping. But, I was lucky and the police nabbed him in a few hours."
<img title="Here, the officer realises that Ali has been cheated as the ticket shows up cancelled at Kurla station on the system. He then immediately alerts his counterpart at Kurla " src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jan/28accused-3.jpg" alt="Here, the officer realises that Ali has been cheated as the ticket shows up cancelled at Kurla station on the system. He then immediately alerts his counterpart at Kurla " /> Here, the officer realises that Ali has been cheated as the ticket shows up cancelled at Kurla station on the system. He then immediately alerts his counterpart at Kurla 
Accused confesses During his interrogation, Bajaj revealed his modus operandi and confessed to the crime, saying he had tricked more than four people in the last week itself. Sources said that "one accused earns more than R50K per month from this."
<img title="The Kurla RPF immediately swings into action and nabs Bajaj before he can make a quick getaway. Illustrations/Uday Mohite" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jan/28accused-4.jpg" alt="The Kurla RPF immediately swings into action and nabs Bajaj before he can make a quick getaway. Illustrations/Uday Mohite" /> The Kurla RPF immediately swings into action and nabs Bajaj before he can make a quick getaway. Illustrations/Uday Mohite

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