The Marine Drive police on Saturday arrested a 35-year-old man who allegedly cheated a jewellery shop owner and stole diamond rings worth Rs16.4 lakh from him earlier this month.
Narendra Madanlal Sharma, a resident of Green Villa Apartment, Andheri (West), has been remanded in police custody till July 30 by a local court.
According to the police, Sharma speaks English fluently and can easily be mistaken for a high-power businessman. He also owns a plush duplex apartment in Pune.
On July 9, Sharma had met the owner of Dia Jewel, Anshul Shah, pretending to be one Ajay Kumar. The store is located in CR2 shopping mall at Nariman Point.
“He told Shah that his London-based client wanted to purchase three gold and diamond rings,” said an officer from Marine Drive police station, adding that he told Shah that his client was staying in Oberoi Hotel.
Sharma went to the shop the next day saying that his client wanted to see a few rings. Shah asked his uncle, Shankarlal Rathod, and another employee to accompany Sharma.
“At the hotel, Kumar made the two to sit in the lobby. After a few minutes, he asked Rathod to bring more rings. After Rathod left, Sharma took the peon to another lobby,” the officer said.
By the time Rathod returned, Kumar had disappeared with the rings. “After checking the CCTV footage, we realised that the he had been arrested in April last year. We are on the lookout for his two associates,” said the officer.
