Gurugram man booked for impersonating cop, extorting money from sweet shop owners

According to police, the suspect also duped a few police constables and used them to pressure sweet shop owners into giving him money

A man was booked in Gurugram on Wednesday for allegedly impersonating a police officer and extorting money from at least 10 sweet shop owners in Sadar Bazaar by telling them that his daughter fell ill after eating items purchased from them, police said.

The complaint in this case was filed by Sachin Saini, the owner of a sweet shop in Sadar Bazaar, police said. (Representational image)

According to police, the suspect also duped a few police constables and used them to pressure sweet shop owners into giving him money. The complaint in this case was filed by Sachin Saini, the owner of a sweet shop in Sadar Bazaar, police said.

The case dates to April 4, when a police constable from Gurugram City police station approached Saini saying that a senior police officer of sub-inspector rank posted in Hisar wanted to have a conversation with him.

The alleged sub-inspector told Saini over the phone that his daughter fell ill after eating sweets purchased from his shop, had to be hospitalised, and threatened him with severe legal consequences if he did not bear the medical expenses. Saini said that the suspect told him he had submitted a complaint in the matter and would get his shop closed.

“Within 20 minutes, another police personnel approached me and made me talk to the impersonator over the phone again. I finally paid ₹8,000 on UPI to end the matter on April 5,” Saini said in the complaint.

A few days later, Saini learned that a similar incident took place with several shop owners in the area. So he approached the police and filed a complaint on April 16, based on which a first information report was registered at Gurugram City police station on Wednesday under sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

Inspector Sajjan Singh, station house officer of the Gurugram City police station, said the suspect’s bank account transactions were put on hold. “We are trying to trace and arrest him. We will also ensure that the cheated money is returned to the shop owners,” he said.