This is how fake cops are thriving in city

Victims are gullible senior citizens, cash-rich jewellers and businessmen who want no truck with law

Mumbai: If you are stopped by a cop or cops, well turned out in formal clothes, brown leather shoes, their hair trimmed, clean shaven or bearing a moustache (an image associated with policemen in civil clothes) with an authoritative manner of speaking, do not be daunted. Just ask for their identity card, scrutinise it and if you find something suspicious, call the control room. A real cop will be unfazed; a fake one will look for cover.

“Fortunately, with CCTV cameras and advanced investigation techniques, apprehending them is easier today than it was earlier,” said senior police inspector Yogendra Pache, of Agripada police station. He added that the department habitually makes announcements through the public address system on their vehicles, holds meetings with Mohalla Committees and sends messages on WhatsApp groups of various citizens’ forums. (HT PHOTO)

Despite the police department’s attempts at creating awareness among the public, cases of citizens falling prey to criminals posing as policemen is on the rise in Mumbai.

“In many cases, an insider tips off the gang, leading to the crime. The targets are either a group of people travelling with large amounts of cash, or businessmen on their way to close a deal. We have observed that one of the two parties in the supposed business deal are also part of the criminal gang, and the deal is just a set-up for a fake raid,” said a senior officer with the Mumbai Police.

The officer said that these are not habitual offenders when it comes to impersonating policemen. They usually commit other crimes like thefts or robberies and depend on such tip offs for that one big score.

The gangs always choose their victims carefully. The targets are those on the wrong side of the law -- jewellers or businessmen who deal in large amounts of cash every day or those seeking loans from private money lenders. “There is always an element of illegality in what they are doing, and this is what criminals capitalise on,” said an officer with the LT Marg police station, which has the entire Zaveri Bazaar in its jurisdiction.

The bustling market, with large quantities of gold and massive amounts of cash moving through it, is a prime target for fake cops and what is worse, most cases from here are never reported. “The victims prefer the occasional loss of money than suffer official scrutiny by reporting the case to authorities. This makes it difficult for us to get a sense of how many such gangs are actually operating and hampers our ground level intelligence gathering,” the officer said.

Habitual offenders are adept at spotting targets who can be robbed – they pick someone who has the kind of money they are after, as it is not worth taking such a big risk if the pay-off is not in lakhs. To the police’s chagrin, there are also cases where suspended or dismissed policemen turn to such crimes. Suspended or dismissed cops have ID cards or know how a forged card should look, and use this to their advantage. As they also know the workings of the police machinery, they are able to pull off the perfect crime.

“Fortunately, with CCTV cameras and advanced investigation techniques, apprehending them is easier today than it was earlier,” said senior police inspector Yogendra Pache, of Agripada police station. He added that the department habitually makes announcements through the public address system on their vehicles, holds meetings with Mohalla Committees and sends messages on WhatsApp groups of various citizens’ forums. “We do this round the year,” said Pache.

However, the lay citizen needs to be abreast of the details of actual police procedure to be able to tell the real from fake. “The moment they smell a stink, they should land up at the nearest police station before they are led astray by the criminals,” said Additional Commissioner of Police Veerendra Mishra, who was in charge of the North region till the recent IPS transfers on December 13.

A senior IPS officer added that a sure sign of a fake police raid is if the ‘police’ try to isolate you by shutting you in a room or forcing you inside a vehicle.

“The quick whisking away of an accused is only reserved for dangerous criminals who might pose a threat while being arrested, not for businessmen in violation of Income Tax laws. All the police action against black money or illegal transactions are always calm, methodical and transparent. Plus, panch witnesses are present before any seizure can be made. Nowadays we even film a lot of our operations for transparency,” said the officer.