In a bid to save Rs 900, three individuals from Mumbai’s Borivali area attempted to forge entry passes for a Dandiya event organized by Maharashtra’s BJP MLC, Pravin Darekar. However, their endeavor to attend the event without proper passes came to an unfortunate end when vigilant volunteers apprehended them.
The trio, identified as Sanjay Zala, Arpit Patadiya, and Girish Solanki, was arrested on Thursday and charged with offenses related to cheating and forgery, carrying the potential of a seven-year prison sentence, as stated by officials. The legitimate entry fee for this event, part of the Navratri celebrations, is Rs 300 per person per day.
The Borivali police took them into custody based on a complaint filed by businessman Kunal Turakiya, responsible for the event management of I-Tech Events, the organizer of ‘Rangraas with Bhumi Trivedi Navratri 2023,’ along with Pravin Darekar and two others.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), due to recent instances of fraudulent groups selling fake passes for popular Garbha and Dandiya events featuring Falguni Pathak and Kinjal Dave, the event organizers had instructed their volunteers to exercise extra vigilance and identify individuals attempting to enter with counterfeit passes.
The volunteers apprehended the three suspects and subsequently presented them to Police Inspector Jadhav, who was stationed with his team at the event site. After a comparison with genuine passes, it was confirmed that the seized passes were counterfeit.
An officer from Borivali police station remarked, “When asked about the passes, they did not provide satisfactory explanations, leading to their booking and subsequent arrest.”
The charges against the three individuals include Sections 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (dishonestly using forged documents as genuine), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).