Man posing as MP Arvind Sawant’s PA dupes Bademiya owner of

MUMBAI: A man claiming to be the personal assistant of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant cheated the owner of popular eatery Bademiya out of ₹12.27 lakh by ordering hundreds of plates of food, including biryani and gulab jamun, without paying for them and also asking for money to secure a seat for the restaurant owner’s daughter in a law college.
The police have registered a First Information Report following a complaint lodged by Jamal Mohammad Yasin Shaikh, 54, the owner of the 78-year-old eatery. According to the complaint, a man who identified himself as Suraj called Shaikh and ordered food on Sawant’s behalf several times since July. One of the orders was for 200 plates of biryani and gulab jamun. When Shaikh inquired about the bill, the fraudster allegedly told him that Sawant would settle it all in one go.
“As Shaikh had in the past supplied food to Sawant and taken money later, he readily agreed to send the parcel. This way, he sent food articles several times to spots given by Suraj. Once, Suraj told him that [Shiv Sena (UBT) leader] Milind Narvekar had won the MLC seat and, therefore, food for 200 people was required to be sent to an address in Byculla. The order included vegetarian and non-vegetarian biryani, and gulab jamuns. Similarly, Suraj again called for food for 40 people,” said an officer from the Kalachowki police station.
Shaikh also asked the man if he could secure admission for his daughter at a Churchgate-based law college. Suraj told him that he would speak to the MLA and MP and get it done. He first took a donation of ₹3 lakh. He later took the college fee, money to pay a trustee, and money for various other reasons—a total ₹9.27 lakh in cash and through transfers via UPI,” said the police officer.
Since the man had taken money from Shaikh near Bharat Mata Cinema in Parel, a case has been registered at the Kalachowki police station under sections 204 (personating a public servant), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, added the police officer.
Shaikh confirmed that a case had been registered following a complaint lodged by him. Meanwhile, Sawant clarified that he had no personal assistant by the name of Suraj, adding that the police should investigate the matter and arrest the person concerned.