Railway police detain youth at Bandra station, was collecting donation for fake cancer patient

A month after Railway police arrested a 19-year-old for fooling passengers by collecting money in the name of a fake cancer patient, railway authorities are still probing if the youth was a part of a bigger racket.

Everyday, many of us come across individuals who ask for donations for the treatment of terminally ill patients. Unfortunately, those who end up donating, often end up doing so without properly checking or verifying if the person collecting the money is even authorized to do so.

In one such case, railway police came across a youth aboard a Churchgate-bound local, collecting money for the treatment of a cancer patient. He carried a small transparent box for collecting the money, which also had a sticker reading ‘Umeed Foundation’. To authenticate his claim, he carried a medical certificate of the child patient who was in dire need of funds for his treatment.

Since the cops found his behaviour suspicious, they detained him at Bandra station and questioned him. During questioning, the accused, identified as Aditya Mohite, confessed that the certificate was fake and he was asking for donations to earn easy money. He also admitted to not being associated with Umeed Foundation.

Following his confession, Mohite was booked under Section 144(B) of the Railway Act. He was produced in Mumbai Central court the same day and granted bail on a bond of Rs 2,000.

The Railway police are still investigating whether Mohite was a part of an organized donation racket, wherein individuals collect money from unsuspecting citizens for the treatment of ‘fake’ patients.