A 43-year-old man from Mumbai’s Dadar area was cheated of INR 1.07 crore by fraudsters who promised him a low-cost flat in the city. This came to light after the victim, Shekhar Himmat Patil, filed a complaint with the Mumbai Cyber Cell on June 3, 2025.
The accused posed as a real estate agent and used a Facebook page called "Apna Ghar Apne City Mai" to attract people looking for affordable homes. Patil found this page while browsing Facebook. He sent an email to the contact mentioned in the advertisement to enquire about the offer.
The accused replied and told Patil that he could help him get a two-bedroom apartment at a discounted rate. He sent Patil a link to a form and asked for his personal details. Later, he asked for INR 50,000 as a registration fee.
For the next couple of years, he kept demanding more money for different so-called clearances. These included MHADA, BMC NOC, and other fake charges. In total, they took INR 1.07 crore from Patil between November 2018 and November 2024. He was never given any property.
When Patil realised he had been cheated, he approached the Cyber Cell. The officers tracked the email communication, checked IP addresses, reviewed the Facebook page, and searched the bank accounts used in the transactions. They were linked to Sanyam Devmani Pandey, a 36-year-old resident of Badlapur East in Thane district.
Pandey was arrested by the Cyber Cell. Initial investigation showed that he had created the fake Facebook page to trick people into paying money for properties that did not exist. Police found that the accused had made 215 different transactions using different names to cheat the victim. Officials believe there can be more victims. The investigation is ongoing.
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