Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch have arrested a 60-year-old man from the Versova area of Mumbai for allegedly possessing fake identity documents linked to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

The man, identified as Akhtar Hussaini, held BARC identity cards, forged documents, and several suspicious papers.

During the search, authorities recovered counterfeit BARC identity cards, forged documents, and several suspicious papers from Hussaini’s possession.

According to the Mumbai Crime Branch, the fraudster is currently in custody and being interrogated to ascertain the motive behind creating the fake documents.

Further investigation is underway to determine if any larger network or criminal activity is involved.

A day earlier in another case, the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Crime Branch successfully executed a targeted operation, resulting in the arrest of 12 cybercriminals and the dismantling of well-organised cyber scam syndicates operating across multiple states.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of ACP Anil Sharma, comprising teams led by Inspector Sandeep Singh, Inspector Ashok Kumar, Inspector Shivram, and Inspector Subash.

In the first operation, the Cyber Cell, Crime Branch, Delhi, successfully arrested three accused persons and dismantled a digital arrest fraud module operating from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, police said.

The case FIR dated July 5, under sections 308/318(4)/319/340 BNS, PS Cyber South, Delhi, was registered for cheating to the tune of Rs 42.49 lakh through an elaborate digital arrest scam.

The fraudsters, posing as police officials, falsely accused the elderly victim of involvement in a money laundering case and, through fear and psychological manipulation, induced him to transfer money into multiple mule accounts traced to Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the release said.

Mumbai: In a major success ahead of the festive season, the Mumbai Police recovered 1,464 stolen and lost mobile phones worth over Rs 3.22 crore from various parts of the city and returned them to their rightful owners on Thursday, October 16. The large-scale recovery drive was a coordinated effort by Zones 3, 4, and 5 of the Mumbai Police, supported by CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register) portal operators, cyber officers and crime detection teams.

A video of the special program organised to return the stolen phones has gone viral on the internet. According to officials, Zone 3 recovered 356 phones, including 62 from Tardeo, 80 from Nagpada, 48 from Agripada, 61 from Byculla, 55 from Worli, and 50 from N.M. Joshi Marg police stations.

Zone 4 accounted for 448 phones, traced from stations such as Bhoiwada (72), Kalachowki (48), Matunga (79), R.A.K. Marg (58), Sion (69), Antop Hill (61), and Wadala T.T. (61). The highest recovery came from Zone 5, which retrieved 660 phones from Dadar (138), Shivaji Park (113), Mahim (88), Shahunagar (70), Dharavi (97), Kurla (108) and V.B.A. Nagar (46).

In addition to the phones, valuables such as gold, silver, and other ornaments worth Rs 21.87 lakh were also returned to citizens. The handover ceremony was held under the guidance of the Additional Commissioner of Police, Central Regional Division, and attended by DCPs from Zones 3, 4 and 5.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, Mumbai Police’s DCP Zone 12 had also returned valuables worth Rs 3.89 crore to citizens as part of a similar initiative. “A special Diwali return gift!” the police wrote in a post on X, announcing the recovery of 2.25 kg of gold jewelry, 2 buses, 7 auto-rickshaws, 13 motorcycles, 4 laptops, and 689 mobile phones. The operation covered multiple police stations, including Dahisar, Kasturba Marg, Samta Nagar, Kurar, Dindoshi, Vanrai and Aarey.

Mumbai: The Santacruz police have arrested a 31-year-old operations manager, Dinath Shetty, for allegedly embezzling Rs1.23 crore from Banana Leaf, a popular restaurant chain. Dinath, who managed five branches of the restaurant, was apprehended in Mangaluru and brought to Mumbai on a transit remand on October 15.

According to the FIR, Suraj Shetty, director of Malgudi Foods, which operates Banana Leaf restaurants across India, filed a complaint against Dinath in September 2024. As operations manager, Dinath was entrusted with overseeing accounts, rental agreements, procurement of goods, and equipment for the restaurant’s five branches. The FIR alleges that between January 9, 2024, and May 1, 2024, Dinath siphoned off over a crore while working at the Juhu Tara Road branch in Santacruz West. At the time, he resided in Mira Road East.

Following the registration of the case, Dinath went off the grid, switching off his mobile phone, halting banking transactions, and ceasing social media activity to evade detection. The breakthrough in the case came when the Santacruz police obtained a CIBIL TransUnion report, which revealed that Dinath had taken loans from at least 10 banks, including a car loan. Using the car’s registration number, the police traced the vehicle to Mangaluru, where it had been flagged for traffic violations.

With assistance from the Mangaluru police, a team led by investigation officer Sarad Jadhav, under the supervision of crime police inspector Chandrakant Kamble and senior police inspector Yogesh Shinde, conducted a two-day operation in Mangaluru. Their efforts culminated in Dinath’s arrest, and he was subsequently brought to Mumbai for a three-day transit remand.