Mumbai: Couple duped out of Rs 27 lakh over job in UK, visa; woman held
Mumbai (PTI): A woman has been arrested in Mumbai after she and a man allegedly cheated a couple of Rs 27 lakh under the pretext of helping them with a job in London and visas to the United Kingdom, police have said.
The arrest of the accused, identified as Akanksha Rajendra Tiwari, may help the police uncover more such cases, an official said on Tuesday. Police are also looking for another accused in the case.
In his complaint to the Kandivali police, Vikas Vidur Kumar Khativeda, an engineering consultant, said his wife Monika Dahal wanted to work in London. While searching for agencies in Mumbai offering job-plus-visa services, she came across a private company on social media.
The company had posted several stories claiming to offer jobs as well as visa services for the UK, Canada, Australia, Europe, and other countries. Dahal contacted the number provided and was introduced to the accused Akanksha Tiwari, said the official.
Citing the FIR, the official said the couple met Tiwari in an office in Raghuleela Mall, Kandivali. Based on the instructions of Tiwari and one Rohit Songara, who claimed to be the company owner, they paid Rs 27 lakh between June 2024 and May this year, he said.
However, even after repeated promises, neither the work visa for Dahal nor the dependent visa for her husband was provided. Both accused subsequently began avoiding them.
Soon after, the couple found out that the Kandivali office of the company was shut and that it had moved to the Malad area, but the accused were not found there either.
Realising that they had been cheated, the husband filed a complaint with the Kandivali police, the official said.
Police registered a case against Tiwari and Songara and subsequently arrested the woman, the official said, adding efforts are being made to nab the other accused.
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'Warm and engaging atmosphere reigned', Shashi Tharoor on Putin banquet
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who on Friday attended a banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, on Saturday described the atmosphere there as "warm" and "engaging", and said he enjoyed his conversations with many of the attendees.
Tharoo’s remarks came a day after President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet for the visiting Russian president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
“Attended the @rashtrapatibhvn banquet for President Putin last night. A warm and engaging atmosphere reigned. Enjoyed my conversations with many of the attendees, especially my dining companions from the Russian delegation!" Tharoor said in a social media post.
Murmu, while welcoming President Putin and his delegation at the banquet, had said that his visit marked an important milestone -- the 25th anniversary of the India-Russia strategic partnership, which was established in October 2000 during his first visit to the country as president.
Murmu also appreciated Putin's support and personal commitment to the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership.
The Congress on Friday said that the leaders of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite.
The party’s media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
“There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise, but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” Khera said on Friday.
Asked about Tharoor accepting the invite for the banquet, Khera said, "Ask Mr Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable, and those who accept such an invite are also questionable."
“We would have listened to our voice of conscience,” he added.
Earlier, Tharoor had said that there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited, but that practice seems to have stopped some years ago.
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the leader of opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks came hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
