The Bangur Nagar police have arrested a 27-year-old habitual offender for duping policyholders under the pretext of renewal by impersonating an insurance company employee. The accused, Salim Akbar Siddiqui alias Abhishek Singh, is wanted in multiple cyber fraud cases across Mumbai and nearby areas. He was arrested from Malad West on Wednesday, following a coordinated operation between Bangur Nagar and Malwani police teams, aided by confidential informants and mobile CDR tracking.
According to police, the deputy vice president of a health insurance company lodged a formal complaint with the Bangur Nagar police about a policyholder being contacted by the accused in December. As per the complaint, Siddiqui persuaded the victim to renew his health insurance policy and requested payments of Rs 23,940 and Rs 30,039, promising a 10 per cent discount. To build trust, the fraudster even sent a fake confirmation email from an address that closely mimicked the company’s official domain. The victim transferred a total of Rs 53,979 via UPI to an account resembling the insurer’s UPI ID.
When the policy documents failed to arrive, the victim contacted the company’s toll-free number and learnt that no transaction had taken place. An internal investigation by the company revealed that the same accused had targeted several other policyholders (at least six people) using similar tactics. The initial estimated fraud amount exceeds Rs 1.80 lakh.
Following the complaint, Senior Inspector Anil Thakarey, API Vivek Tamble, PSI Rohan Patil, and the cyber unit began a detailed probe under the supervision of DCP Anand Bhoite Zone XI. After months of tracking and monitoring Siddiqui’s changing locations, police successfully arrested him from Malwani on Wednesday night. “Siddiqui worked with the said health insurance company and had access to internal data, including details of expired or dormant policies. Using this information, he created fake email addresses and UPI handles that resembled the official company credentials and began targeting old policyholders,” said a police officer.
