Three incidents of ‘fake cops’ duping elderly reported in the city in two days

These fake cops are now even daring to conduct naka-bandi for carrying out the crime. According to police, in the Byculla case the fake cops stopped vehicles at ‘naka-bandi’, including that of the complainant, and snatched an amount of ₹1,000 from his pocket

Mumbai Three different individuals were targeted by fake cops at three different places - Dadar, Matunga and Byculla - in last two days.

Three incidents of ‘fake cops’ duping elderly reported in the city in two days

These fake cops are now even daring to conduct naka-bandi for carrying out the crime. According to police, in the Byculla case the fake cops stopped vehicles at ‘naka-bandi’, including that of the complainant, and snatched an amount of ₹1,000 from his pocket.

In the first incident that took place in Dadar on Thursday morning, Suresh Nagvekar, 77, a Prabhadevi resident was walking towards Kirti College on the Kashinath Dhuru Marg when he was stopped by two people.

“They cautioned the senior citizen that cases of theft had been on the rise and he should not be wearing gold ornaments. They then asked him to remove his gold ornaments, wrapped it in a handkerchief and handed it back to him,” a police officer from Dadar police station said.

“When Nagvekar reached home and opened the handkerchief, he found that his 25-gram gold chain and gold ring worth around ₹20,000 was replaced by fake jewellery,” the officer added.

Similarly, on Thursday afternoon, 70-year-old Mahendra Kumar Chhotelal Gautam, a resident of Bhandup who had been to the bank in Matunga for some personal work, was stopped at Bhandarkar Marg in Matunga East by a person who posed as a policeman.

He insisted Gautam to hand over the valuables saying that they were doing naka-bandi and incidents of thefts had increased. “He took all the valuables from him and wrapped it in a handkerchief and returned it back to him. When Gautam reached the station to board a train for Bhandup and checked the handkerchief, he found the contents to be fake,” said a police officer from Matunga police station.

In the third incident, Lokeshkumar Soni, who works as a waiter, hailed a cab for his house in Kalachowkie in the wee hours on Thursday. “Two people stopped the cab on E S Patanwala Road near Ghopdeo Naka in Byculla, claiming that they were policemen. They claimed that the complainant was carrying narcotics and sought to check the vehicle. While checking the vehicle they snatched away ₹1,000 from Soni. As the complainant sensed something wrong, he and the cab driver went to a nearby police chowkie and informed the cops stationed there. The cops rushed to the spot and managed to catch the two people,” said a police officer.

The arrested duo is identified as Jatin Katolia, 43, and N Stanley John, 45.

“When they stopped us. We realised they were drunk. They tried pulling money from Soni’s pocket which we thought was wrong,” cab driver Ajit Kumar said. “We immediately informed cops nearby who arrested them,” said Kumar.