Caterer duped of jewellery worth ₹4 lakh by fake cops

Mumbai A 53-year-old-man was cheated of valuables worth ₹4 lakh by two persons, one of whom posed as an official of Mumbai Crime branch

Mumbai A 53-year-old-man was cheated of valuables worth ₹4 lakh by two persons, one of whom posed as an official of Mumbai Crime branch.

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The fake policeman told the victim to hand over his valuables so that he can pack it in a handkerchief and give it back to him as there had been many robberies in the area and hiding the valuable is a good idea. Later, the victim found out that the ‘officer’ had given him another packed handkerchief with fake jewellery and had made away with his valuables.

According to the MIDC police in Andheri East, Michael D’Silva, 53, a resident of Kondivita road, Andheri East, and a caterer by profession, was returning home after finishing work when he was stopped by a person, who claimed to be a crime branch officer, and asked him to hand over his jewellery as there were robberies in the area.

According to the police, to gain D’Silva’s confidence, the man similarly stopped another person, his aide, and asked him to hand over his jewellery. He then packed it in a handkerchief and handed it back to him.

Reassured by this, D’Silva gave his two gold bracelets, two gold rings and a gold chain, all valued around ₹4 lakh, to the fake cop, who packed it in a handkerchief and gave the packet back to the victim. Only when the victim reached home and opened the handkerchief, did he realise that he has been cheated as there was fake jewellery in the packet.

“The man was wearing a helmet and a mask. He showed D’Silva an identity card. D’Silva handed him his two gold rings and one gold chain along with his mobile phone and cash of ₹2,500. Later when he reached home, D’Silva only found his mobile phone and cash of ₹2,000 and instead of his valuables, there was fake jewellery,” said a police officer from MIDC police station.

D’Silva said, “I went to the spot and learnt that the fake cop had fled on a bike. He didn’t show me the identity card properly but I fell into his trap as he was also checking other people, which I only learnt later were his own men,” said D’Silva.

On D’Silva’s complaint, a case has been registered of cheating and for personating a public servant and common intention.

“We are checking the CCTV footage and also record of history sheeters to identify the accused,” said a police officer.

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When an ‘officer’ stops you...

What precautions citizens should take to prevent them from becoming victims of Fake cops/CBI/NCB/NIA.

- Citizens should not panic if anyone tells them that they are from CBI, NCB, Police or NIA or from any law enforcement agencies and want to take action.

- The citizens first should ask the ‘officer’ to show his/her I’d card and if you have any doubt regarding their authenticity then they should call the police control room at 100. If the officers are real, they would stay, and the fake ones would run away.

- If they insist you come along with them to their office, insist they first take you to the nearest police station. Any real Central agency official would not object to this as they are doing legitimate duty.

- And most importantly, if you have not indulged in any unlawful act then you should not fear anyone, any police or any agency.

- If any officer from the Narcotics Control Bureau or Anti-Narcotics Cell wants to frisk or examine you, he/she needs to do it in presence of independent panch/witnesses under NDPS Act. If the officers are not following this mandatory procedure, then there is a possibility that they could be fake.

- Under the NDPS Act, the policeman frisking any suspect first should himself undergo a search to show that he has no contraband to plant and is carrying out the search action in a transparent manner.