A man posing as a hotel manager stole a laptop after ordering it to the hotel (Representational Image)
Two persons have been booked for allegedly cheating the manager of an electronics gadget store at a mall in Thane and fleeing with a laptop, police said today.
According to a complaint filed by the store manager, a man looking for a laptop came to his shop on Wednesday. "The accused, who claimed to be the manager of a renowned hotel in the city and identified himself as Lalwani, selected a laptop worth Rs 62,000," police said.
He then said he was heading to his hotel for a meeting and that he would call the store for delivering the gadget. After his call, the store manager went to the hotel and met him in the lobby. There, the accused took the laptop and handed it over to his accomplice to gift wrap it. The accused then told the store manger to prepare a receipt and on the pretext of going to bring the money for payment, he disappeared.
"When the man and his accomplice did not return for a long time, the store manager enquired from the hotel staff, who told him there was no manager of that name," police said.
The store manager then approached the Vartak Nagar police who registered a case yesterday under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) in connection with the incident.
An investigation has started and a manhunt has been launched to nab the two accused, police said, adding that they will view the CCTV footage of the hotel to trace the culprits.