Couple from Iraq duped of over ₹7.4 lakh by men posing as cops in Gurugram

Two Iraqi nationals were reportedly cheated out of over ?7.4 lakh by three men posing as police officers in Sector 51, India. The suspects stole the money under the pretense of checking the victims' passport and visa-related documents. A case has been registered and CCTV footage is being reviewed to identify the suspects.

Two Iraqi nationals, who were carrying money for their son’s treatment, were allegedly duped of over ₹7.4 lakh by three suspects posing as police officers, on the pretext of checking their passport and visa-related documents in Sector 51, police said on Wednesday.

The complainant said that during the checking, the men took out money kept in the victims’ bags and fled. (Representational image)

According to the police, the incident took place on June 28 when the victims — a man and his wife — were walking towards a mall in Sector 51. They were intercepted by three men boarded in a Honda City car, police said. The complainant, Alaa Sahib Merzah, said that the men claimed to be police officers and asked for their visa and passport documents for checking as they suspected the victims to be drug dealers. On the pretext of checking documents, the suspects stole around ₹7.4 lakh that the couple had and escaped.

Merzah is an Iraqi national who was staying at a guest house in Sector 46 for his son’s treatment. “On June 28, I was returning from the hospital along with my wife. When we reached near a commercial place, some unidentified persons intercepted us in their car. They asked us to show them our identity cards and passport. They said that they had received information that we were carrying drugs, so they want to check our belongings,” he said.

After realising that they were duped, Merzah said they took help of some passersby to inform the police control room.

“I am not left with a single penny to survive here and bear the cost of treatment. I will have to return to my country,” said Merzah, adding that he can only read and write in Arabic and took help of a translator.

Following the complaint, a case was registered against unidentified suspects under sections 379 (theft), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code at Sector 50 police station.

Parveen Kumar, station house officer of Sector 50 police station, said that they are scanning CCTV footage of the area to identify the suspects. “The registration number on the car, which was rented, was fake. We will soon make headway in the case,” Kumar said.