BENGALURU: A 47-year-old conman, who posted classified advertisements on various websites claiming to be the owner of several flats, cheated people by taking lakhs from them by giving them fake agreements. He was arrested after a 23-year-old youth caught him red-handed. The accused has been identified as Mohammed Abdul Rahim, a resident of BTM Layout.
Marathahalli police said when people contacted him enquiring about properties for rent, he introduced himself as the owner and took them to under-construction flats, convincing them it would be completed in a few days. If they expressed interest, he asked them to pay an advance. Then, he would tell them that he would contact them once the flat was ready.
After that, he changed his mobile number. His luck ran out during his eighth scam attempt. Shubham, a 23-year-old employee of a private firm, had planned to shift his house. When he searched for a 3BHK flat on a real estate mobile application, he came across a flat he liked. “It was Yasir’s number and he agreed to show a flat claiming he was the owner.
But when Shubham went there, Yasir told him that he cannot show the house without paying an advance. Suspicious, he searched online and found that a man named Yasir had cheated several people similarly. Shubham met Yasir again on the pretext of paying him the advance. He then went to the apartment society members and showed them the agreement,” police said.
“The members told him that Yasir was not the owner of the flat and they handed him over to the police. He had seven cases against him with Marathahalli police station since 2017. Preliminary investigations has revealed that he has cheated people to the tune of around Rs 20 lakh,” the police added.
The accused used multiple names while dealing with people. “For each property, he used different names and mobile numbers. From each, he has collected Rs 3- Rs 4 lakh as advance,” police said.Police have requested those who have been cheated by him to contact Maratthalli police station (080-25639999), Maratthalli police inspector (9480801615) or Whitefield police control room (080-22942959).