Two people, who allegedly duped several persons aspiring to undertake the Haj pilgrimage of at least Rs55 lakh, were arrested on Thursday by the Economic Offences Wing of the city police.
One of their accomplices, Abdul Wahid Jagrala, is absconding.
The arrested duo – Mohsin Shaikh, 25, from Madanpura and Nasir Shaikh, 40, from Ahmedabad – had offered the pilgrimage at a lesser cost, said police sources.
The arrests were made after a complaint was filed by Goregaon resident Mohammad Siddiq Nagori, 59 , lodged a police complaint.
“Nagori had given Rs5.70 lakh and four passports (one was his, the others for his relatives) to Jagrala through Mohsin,” said a police officer.
Similarly, Kashimira resident Yunus Nagori paid Rs3.30 lakh for himself and his wife and Mahim resident Yusuf Nagori had handed over Rs3.80 lakh to Jagrala through Mohsin.
However, none could undertake the pilgrimage as their passports were never returned.
The officer said that their investigation has revealed that the trio had also conned six others of Rs10.80 lakh in a similar manner. “Besides, they’ve cheated poor farmers from Gujarat and Rajasthan to the tune of Rs31 lakh in a similar manner,” said the officer.
The arrested duo has been booked for criminal breach of trust and cheating. “We are yet to recover the money and passports that were taken by Jagrala,” said another police officer.
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