3 minutes of readingBombayJanuary 19, 2026 21:35 IST
Malad police arrested six people who allegedly operated as a gang to dupe home buyers by posting advertisements on real estate websites using forged documents and also used impostors to pose as homeowners.
The arrests follow an FIR registered at Malad police station on December 29, after a homebuyer was allegedly duped of Rs 30 lakh.
Police said the gang provided false documents for an apartment and used an imposter posing as the owner to carry out the fraud. The main accused, Amit Thakur, who is still at large, is also known as Qasim. Rashid Khan30. Investigators said Khan, along with his associates, has deceived several victims using a similar modus operandi.
According to police records, an FIR was registered against Khan at Dahisar police station, where he allegedly cheated a person of Rs 31 lakh. In another case registered at Kashimira police station, he is accused of cheating a man of Rs 1.1 million.
The arrested accused have been identified as Hitesh Ravindra Kedari, 30, and Rajesh Prasad, 37, both delivery drivers residing in Dahisar (East) and Kandivali (West), respectively; Nimesh Mevani, 49, who posed as the owner of the apartment and lives in Thane; Mohammad Rafiq Rashid Khan, 38, resident of Andheri (West); Deepak Shah, 47, a real estate agent from Nalasopara; and Rajan Kakkar, 45, resident of Borivali (West).
According to the police, the complainant, Naval Rajput, 31, a resident of Malad (west), had been looking for an apartment on a real estate website for almost six months. Between November and December last year, he received a call from Amit Thakur, who offered him a flat in a building on Zakaria Road in Malad (West). Thakur’s associates Roshan Yadav and Deepak Shah allegedly showed Rajput an apartment on the 13th floor, which he agreed to buy.
“After negotiation, the deal was finalized at Rs 1.10 crore,” a police officer said.
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Police said Shah later introduced a man claiming to be the owner of the apartment, Popatlal Sandesha, and provided falsified property documents. Relying on the documents, Rajput paid Rs 26 lakh by check and Rs 4 lakh in cash as initial amount. “The victim had recorded a video while handing over the check and cash,” a police officer said.
The fraud came to light when Rajput started applying for registration of the flat and Thakur allegedly continued to avoid the issue. Rajput then visited the society office and learned that though the name of the flat owner was Popatlal Sandesha, the person who had accepted the check and cash was an imposter.
Later, Rajput approached the Malad police, which registered a case on December 29, 2025 in various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
During investigation, police tracked down the bank account holder, Kedari, and arrested him along with Rajesh Prasad on January 7. According to their interrogation, Rajan Kakkar and Ravi alias Rafiq Khan were arrested last week. Deepak Shah, who showed the flat to the victim, and Nimesh Mevani, who posed as the owner, were arrested on January 13.
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“The four are in police custody till January 20, while Kedari and Prasad have been sent to judicial custody,” a police officer said.
