In a bid to get rid of itch, man loses Rs 2.33 lakh to conmen

A resident of Kalwa lost Rs 2.33 lakh at Thane when two unknown persons tried to help him get rid of itches on his body. The man just came out of ICICI Bank at Naupada when the incident happened.

Around 1.10 pm on Tuesday, Stanley Anthony Mudaliyar, 26, visited the bank at Gajanan Maharaj Chowk in Thane west. He withdrew the money, stepped out of the branch and was walking towards the station when suddenly his entire body started itching. When he started scratching vigorously, two men approached him.

"They told him to pour a bucket of water on himself to ease the condition," said investigating officer API HG Oulkar of Naupada police station. The men then took him to a nearby shop and helped him remove his clothes and bathe. Mudaliyar had kept the bag containing money aside.

After he was done, one of the two strangers said that a Rs 50 note, which was probably his, was lying on the ground. As Mudaliyar bent down to pick it up, the duo vanished with his bag. The bag also had other documents like his driving licence, Aadhaar card, cheque book, debit and credit cards.

The victim then approached the Naupada police which registered a case against two persons under Section 34 (common intention) and 39 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code.

Asked how anyone could get undressed and bathe on the road, the officer said, "The complainant said that his body was itching so much that he could not think of anything else."