Man who posed as cop, duped woman of ₹75K arrested

Police said the incident took place around 2:30am when Rajbhar was traveling with two of her male friends from Andheri towards Bandstand in auto.

A 38-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly posing as an officer from Bandra police station and duping a woman who was travelling in an autorickshaw of ₹75,000 on September 1. The Bandra police are on the lookout for the two other accomplices of the arrested accused, who also allegedly assaulted two friends of the woman.

Officers said the arrested accused, Jafar Sayyed, who has a criminal record, has been remanded in police custody. (HT image)

Officers said the arrested accused, Jafar Sayyed, who has a criminal record, has been remanded in police custody. The complainant, Asha Rajbhar, 24, a domestic help, identified Sayyed when the police showed her photos of history-sheeters.

Police said the incident took place around 2:30am when Rajbhar was traveling with two of her male friends from Andheri towards Bandstand in auto. The auto driver lost his way and stopped the vehicle in a lane near Bandra station to ask a passerby for directions, when the three accused approached them and identified themselves as officers from Bandra police station. Rajbhar said, “They called me a thief and asked me what I was doing there so late. They asked us to get off the rickshaw and snatched my purse. They paid the driver with my money and asked him to leave. They assaulted my friends, who fled. They then said I will have to go to the police station with them. I agreed to do, but they took all valuables from my purse and fled,” said Rajbhar. “Me and my husband lost valuables we had earned over 18 months.”

The accused have been booked under sections 170 (personating a public servant) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.