Maharashtra: Duo dupes rice merchant of Rs 22 lakh in Thane

A rice merchant from Thane in Maharashtra has been allegedly cheated of nearly Rs 22 lakh by two persons, including one from Dubai, an official said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Ameer Khan from Dubai and Vishal Thakur from a company in Delhi, used a fake bill of lading, which also serves as a shipment receipt, and took the delivery of 24 tonnes of Basmati rice from Jebel Ali port in Dubai.

While the rice stock is worth $27,000, or nearly Rs 22 lakh, the two did not pay anything to the complainant, said the station house officer at Chitalsar police station. A case of cheating was registered on Tuesday on the complaint of the rice merchant, said the official.

In another incident, Four people had been detained for stealing two pricey purses worth Rs 2.9 lakh from the car of a female student studying in the US. The theft occurred in South Mumbai.

The incident took place on Sunday evening at Lohar Chawl when the student had gone to purchase some household items with her parents, the official said. The victim is studying in the USA since 2017 and is in Mumbai to renew her visa, he said.