A 63-year-old retiree from Sewri, Vijay Mhatre, allegedly lost Rs 6.5 lakh — his life savings —after misplacing his mobile phone during a routine grocery run at the Dadar market. When he later checked his bank account, he was left with just Rs 276, with the remaining amount siphoned off through unauthorised transactions. Mhatre, a resident of BDD Chawl, went to the daily vegetable and fruit market near Veer Kotwal Udyan in Dadar West in the morning of May 1. 

He told mid-day, “I don’t really remember if I dropped my phone or forgot it somewhere. But when I realised it was missing, I panicked — though I had the sense to rush to my SIM card operator’s gallery for assistance. Unfortunately, their server was down, so my SIM card couldn’t be blocked.”