mumbai

Updated: May 04, 2019 00:15 IST

A farmer from Sindhudurg’s Devgad taluka, who had come to sell Alphonso mangoes at the Borivli market on Monday, was duped of 109 boxes of the fruit.

“Recently, I had gone to Kankavli. There, I got a call from my cousin, who told me that some person named Anil was looking to purchase mangoes in bulk. As my cousin did not have that much produce, I took Anil’s details from him,” said Krishnanath Rane, 32.

Rane agreed to give 100 boxes of mangoes, with each box for ₹1,800. He hired a tempo for ₹15,000 and reached the Borivli market with 109 boxes. Anil met Rane, got the mangoes offloaded and told Rane he was going to meet a businessman for the deal. He returned in some time and told Rane that the businessman was ready to buy the entire stock and would pay him after 3pm, said police. “Anil told me he would pay me after getting the money from the businessman,” said Rane. When Rane called him back after a few hours, Anil’s phone was switched off. After looking for him for over an hour, Rane started to look for the businessman, who bought the mangoes. He found out that the businessman paid Anil immediately after the delivery.

Rane then lodged complaint at Kasturba Marg police station. “I had taken mangoes from other villagers on credit, and was expecting to sell them all for ₹2lakh-₹2.5lakh. I am now in debt,” said Rane, adding he will now have to part with even the ₹60,000 he earned by selling cashews he cultivated. “We have managed to get the CCTV feed of some cameras in the area which show Anil. We are trying to trace him,” said an officer.