Mumbai: Incidents of payment defaults are on the rise in Mumbai. In another recent case, Sameer Bhatija of Star Collection took two channel partners-VC Infosystems and Dolphin Computers-in the city for a ride.

Talking about the incident, Vipin Sharma, Proprietor of VC Infosystems said, “Star Collection contacted us to purchase two Apple laptops. Once I handed over the goods, Bhatija asked me to come over to collect the cheque since he was not carrying enough cash with him. When I reached Lokhandwala, he asked me to come over to his office located at Mira Road. However, he had shared wrong contact details of his office and on further inquiry, I learned that no company by the name of Star Collection existed in that area.”

The two Apple laptops were valued at Rs 1,28,500 and after Bhatija bought the material on June 12, 2009 he was unreachable on his cell from June 15, 2009. “He did not respond to my repeated calls and hence I lodged a complaint at the Amboli police station.” Following this the police apprehended Bhatija on June 25, 2009 and has been remanded to police custody.

Dolphin Computers is another channel partner who too was duped by Bhatija who bought three assembled desktops and one HCL laptop valued over Rs 1 lakh on June 24. Gangasagar Sharma, Proprietor of Dolphin Computers said, “Bhatija got in touch with us stating that he planed to open an Aircel gallery and hence was looking at buying three desktops and one laptop on an urgent basis. We asked them to make cash payments before releasing the material. However, Bhatija was not carrying enough cash and handed over Rs 7,000 as part payment to us.”

Thereafter Bhatija assured Sharma that the balance amount would be paid through cheque. He called Sharma at Bandra Kurla Complex to make the remaining payment on 24th night itself but never reached the venue. “Later I contacted him and asked him to make the payments without delay the next morning. However, when we reached Mira Road, we discovered that no company by the name of Star Collection existed in that area. After a long wait and repeated calls on his mobile I got a call from some stranger who then asked me to come at Fun Republic Cinema located nearby,” added Sharma.

Bhatija and two of his companions-Veerendra Yadav and Manish Chawla-who were also involved in the racket have been arrested by the police. The confiscated goods, including the products sold by VC Infotech and Dolphin Computers, are now in police custody and the accused will soon be produced before the court.

Sub-Inspector Vijay Kumar Kadam of the Amboli Police Station said, “We caught Bhatija and his two associates the very day we learned of the incident and later handed them over to the court. They had an office in Kanjur Marg which we raided and from where we recovered all the goods.”

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