MUMBAI: Mumbai Police have arrested a Punjab resident for allegedly impersonating the personal assistant (PA) of a Maharashtra MLA and duping people by seeking money under the guise of financial assistance.The accused, identified as 44-year-old Bhalindra Pal Baldev Singh Sehgal, is a resident of Mohali in Punjab.He was arrested from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and brought to Mumbai for further questioning, news agency PTI reported.According to police, complainant Tushar Girish Madivediya, 46, and his friend Bharat Ratilal Shah received phone calls from Sehgal, who allegedly claimed to be the personal assistant of BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay, who represents Mumbai’s Borivali Assembly constituency.Investigators suspect that on some occasions, the accused also posed as the MLA himself, PTI reported.The accused allegedly requested financial assistance, claiming the money was urgently needed to pay the fees of a female student studying at Lucknow University.Trusting his claims, Madivediya transferred money to the accused’s bank account.Sehgal later persuaded Shah to send Rs 8,000 through a digital wallet, claiming it was required to book a hotel in Lucknow.Following the complaint, the Borivali police registered a case and launched a technical investigation, which eventually led to Sehgal’s arrest in Lucknow, the official said.Police suspect the accused may have cheated several other people using a similar modus operandi by impersonating an elected representative or his aide to win victims’ confidence.(With agency inputs)
