Cop among 4 booked for duping woman of ₹8 lakh

While two accused have been identified as Ravindra Gaikwad, the sub-inspector, and Mohseen, the other two are yet to be identified. Hemraj Rajput, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 6, said, “As per the preliminary investigation, Gaikwad’s role has been established, and a manhunt has been launched for Mohseen. We are enquiring about Gaikwad and are checking the entire sequence of events and trying to ascertain if others are involved in the crime”

Mumbai: Four persons, including a sub-inspector attached to the RCF police station, were booked recently for allegedly duping a 38-year-old Pune resident of ₹8 lakh on the promise of doubling her profits in investments of shares.

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While two accused have been identified as Ravindra Gaikwad, the sub-inspector, and Mohseen, the other two are yet to be identified. Hemraj Rajput, deputy commissioner of police, Zone 6, said, “As per the preliminary investigation, Gaikwad’s role has been established, and a manhunt has been launched for Mohseen. We are enquiring about Gaikwad and are checking the entire sequence of events and trying to ascertain if others are involved in the crime.”

The woman is into share trading and lives with her father and elder brother in Pune, an officer from RCF police station said, adding, “She met Mohseen, a Mumbai resident, at a seminar in Pune and exchanged mobile numbers. Since Mohseen also claimed to be in share trading, they used to chat on WhatsApp.”

As per Mohseen’s instructions, she then drove the car some distance away and stopped near a petrol pump where one person came and gave him a parcel, the officer said, adding, “When Mohseen was trying to open the parcel, Gaikwad, who was in uniform, came and started enquiring about the parcel. Gaikwad then took him aside, and when both were talking, a police constable in uniform came on a bike, took Mohseen as a pillion rider and took him to the RCF police station.”

The officer said that the policemen, however, did not tell anything to the woman, who suspected some foul play and followed the autorickshaw in which Gaikwad travelled and thus reached the RCF police station. He added that after waiting for an hour outside the police station, she gathered courage and went inside the police compound, where she saw Gaikwad and went to him to enquire about Mohseen.

“Gaikwad told her that Mohseen was wanted in a case and asked her to leave the police station. Sometime later, she noticed Mohseen leaving the police station in an autorickshaw along with a person. The woman followed the vehicle and after around two kilometres, forced the three-wheeler to stop. Mohseen came out of the auto, sat in the woman’s car and asked her to drive towards the Eastern Freeway,” the officer said.

They came to Mazgaon, where the accused called a person who came and handed over a parcel, claiming it to be her money, the officer said, adding, “The accused then disappeared after getting out of her car, giving an excuse to buy cigarettes. The woman opened the parcel and found that only ₹1.75 lakh was returned to her.”

The police officer said Gaikwad is being questioned, and a manhunt has been launched for Mohseen.