Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 25: A sweet shop owner in Bandra (West) was cheated of Rs 20,000 after a man posing as a BMC employee tricked him into exchanging the amount for coins that turned out to be bags of garbage.

According to police, the fraud occurred on Thursday, when the suspect entered the shop claiming he had 2,000 coins of Rs 10 denomination that he wanted to exchange for cash notes, saying it was his salary.

Believing the man’s story, the shop owner agreed to the exchange. The conman then instructed the owner to send a staff member to a nearby bank, saying the coins were stored there. Once at the bank, the conman collected Rs 20,000 in cash from the staff and told them to pick up the coins from the bank’s security guard, signaling from a distance as part of the ruse.

However, instead of coins, the guard handed over bags filled with garbage.

In his complaint, the shop employee R.P. Madhesiya said the accused appeared to have meticulously planned the con, possibly coordinating with the guard beforehand. “The guard mentioned that a person had visited earlier, claiming to be from the BMC and saying he would come to collect garbage,” Madhesiya stated.

A police officer from the Bandra police station confirmed that a case has been registered against an unidentified individual. “The suspect took the cash under false pretenses and left the victims with garbage bags. We are examining CCTV footage from the area to identify the accused,” the officer said.

The incident has left locals stunned at the audacity and planning behind the con, which police believe may be part of a larger pattern of similar frauds targeting small business owners.