Mumbai: The Dongri Police arrested a 32-year-old habitual conman who allegedly duped jewellery shop owners across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai by posing as a customer, showing fake online payment confirmations and fleeing with gold ornaments.His arrest has led to the detection of seven similar offences registered across multiple police stations.The accused, identified as Rahul Prakash Karpe, 32 , a resident of Kalyan (East), was arrested by the Dongri Police Crime Detection Squad led by Assistant Police Inspector Jadhav and PSI Vyavhare following technical analysis and intelligence inputs.The arrest stems from a case registered at Dongri Police Station on June 27 under Section 305 of the BNS. Police said Karpe visited Lalchand Bhurmal Jewellers in Dongri posing as a customer. After selecting a gold ring weighing 5.210 grams worth ₹82,000, he paid ₹42,000 in cash and claimed to have transferred the remaining ₹40,000 through UPI. Using a fake payment application, he showed a false transaction confirmation and, while the shop owner was checking whether the amount had been credited, allegedly picked up the ring from the counter and fled.The accused had a unique modus operandi. After selecting a gold ring weighing 5.210 grams worth ₹82,000, he paid half the amount in cash and claimed to have transferred the remaining half through UPI. Using a fake payment application, he showed a false transaction confirmation and, while the shop owner was checking whether the amount had been credited, allegedly picked up the ring from the counter and fled.During a personal search after his arrest, police recovered ₹2,190 in cash and a 6.63-gram gold chain, which was found to be linked to a case registered at Manpada Police Station in Dombivli.During interrogation, Karpe allegedly confessed to committing similar offences in the jurisdictions of Dongri, Kalachowki, APMC, Navi Mumbai , Narpoli, Bhiwandi , Manpada, Dombivli , Kopri, Thane , and Kapurbawdi, Thane , police stations. Police are investigating whether he was involved in additional cases using the same modus operandi.
