One cop errs, another sets it right

Turned away by Andheri cop, duped job seeker''s problem solved by Crime Branch officer.
Not every policeman is insensitive and corrupt. Manish Bhatia, a business administration student, who fell victim to a dubious job agent, discovered amazingly contrasting sides of the police.
While one officer advised him to settle the matter by paying off the alleged culprit, another managed to recover his money.
Says Manish, "I had been reading ads of International Connections arranging UK jobs for persons below 30. I contacted Vipul Mehta, who heads the firm, and he took all the originals of my employment certificate, marksheets, passport, Rs 5,000 in cash as visa fees and a post-dated cheque of Rs 25,000."
Manish says Mehta claimed he would get a lawyer in UK to scrutinise his documents and that there are different categories of visas. "As I had good qualifications, he said he would put me in the right category and my application would be filed by the lawyer. Shockingly, in the end, he offered me only a tourist visa," says Manish.
Manish refused to take the visa and asked Mehta to return his documents and money. "He refused to part with anything unless I gave him money," says Manish.
He then went to the Andheri (E) police. "Sub-Inspector Damodar Bandekar initially gave me lots of assurances, but finally said he cannot help. He told me to either sign the agreement with Mehta or give him Rs 15,000 to get back the documents. I then went to the Zone X DCP and ACP''s office. Not getting any response, I finally went to the Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dr Satya Pal Singh, after which things moved fast," says Manish.
Sub-Inspector Vinod Parab, of the Crime Branch, went to Mehta''s office, recovered the documents, the cheque, and the Rs 5,000 cash. "I called Mehta to our office on Monday and the matter is settled. Mehta has admitted to his guilt. It''s amazing that without approval from the authority concerned, Mehta was advertising his services, is legally wrong," says Parab.