Police officer’s wife cheated by fake Customs official

A woman was cheated out of ?3.6 lakh by a fraud posing as a customs officer, promising her gold at a cheaper rate. The accused has been registered for cheating and personating a public servant.

MUMBAI: A police-sub-inspector’s wife was cheated to the tune of ₹3.6 lakh by a fraud posing as a customs officer who promised her gold at a cheaper rate.

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The accused posed as a senior official from the customs department and told the victim that he had got gold in reward which he wanted to sell at a cheaper rate and took ₹3.6 lakh from her for 90 grams of gold.

The M R A Marg police have registered a case against Vaibhav Narde, 32, for cheating, personating a public servant, and cheating by personation under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and that of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The police said the case has been registered with them by the victim Manisha Anil Kare, 25, a resident of M R A Marg police colony in South Mumbai.

The complainant told the police that she met Narde on social media who told her they were related and that he worked with the Customs Department in a senior position.

“He told her that he had a lot of gold that he has gotten as a reward and that he keeps it with a jeweller who sells it at a discounted rate and even gives a receipt for the same. He then took ₹3.6 lakh from her for 90 grams of gold via online payment and later started avoiding her. That’s when she and her husband decided to lodge a case and approached us. We have registered a case against the accused and will soon arrest him as we are following him,” said the police officer.