MHADA flats used as bait to con the aged

The city police has arrested a 44-year-old woman accused of cheating several senior citizens using fake identity cards, by promising to procure MHADA houses for them under special reserved quotas. The accused woman, identified as Sanjana Dhuri, was arrested from Mira-Bhayandar on Thursday.

According to the police, Dhuri was arrested in 2014 under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (cheating). But she secured bail in the case, and later managed to flee. After police teams failed to track her down, the Bhoiwada court issued a proclamation notice to the Vile Parle police, following which search for her was intensified.

"Special teams were formed to crack the case, and they studied call records of Dhuri's family members. Through these call records, we managed to track down one Praneet Patel who then revealed Dhuri's whereabouts," said a police officer, requesting anonymity.

"Dhuri admitted to using a fake ID to impersonate a businesswoman. She also set up a grocery store which was doing well. To embezzle money, she selected senior citizens as her targets and would convince them that she would give them MHADA flats under special quotas. She has been sent to police custody and we are investigating the case further to see how many people were conned and how much money she looted from them," the officer said.