MUMBAI, July 15 -- The police on Sunday arrested a 56-year-old scrap dealer for allegedly cheating several traders and shopkeepers from south Mumbai by placing bulk orders and paying through cheques from a chequebook that was lost by its original owners. The accused, Bharat Nimavat, resides in Shivai Nagar in Thane. Police said Nimavat visited south Mumbai whenever he found discarded cheque books in scrap. The complainant, Viraj Jain, 26, owns a marble shop in the Gol Deval area in Bhuleshwar. On June 13, Nimavat posed as a trustee of a private trust looking to buy heaters for the trust's newly constructed rooms. He purchased 31 Racold heaters, which cost Rs.1.27 lakh, and signed two cheques for it. The accused insisted that he collect the heaters from the street to avoid giving them an address. "When Jain deposited the cheques in the bank, they bounced," said a police officer. VP Road police booked Nimavat for cheating The police traced the cheque to its owner, a Satara-based businessman, who had his bank block the chequebook transactions. "The number used by the accused to call Jain was registered by a different name," said the officer. After studying the call details record, the police reached Thane's Shivai Nagar where they used CCTV footage of the accused to identify Nimavat. "We picked him up. Initially, he denied allegations, but eventually confessed to the crime," he said. The police said Nimavat has similarly cheated a dry fruits trader by taking hundreds of kilograms of cashews and almonds from him and by paying through cheques. He had several cheating cases registered against him in Thane, Vakola and Panvel police stations, the officer added....