68-year-old foils robbery attempt by men posing as cops in Pune

PUNE: A 68-year-old woman from Pimpri-Chinchwad foiled a robbery attempt by four men who approached her posing as police officials in Kaspate Vasti area of Wakad on Tuesday. A case in the matter was registered on Friday.

A complaint was lodged by Kusum Mahendra Budhiya, a housewife living in a society of Kaspate Vasti.

Around 11:30 am on January 4, the woman was walking near the Lord Vitthal temple in Kaspate Vasti when two men approached her and told her that they were policemen. The men then allegedly told her that she should keep her valuable jewellery inside her bag and not wear it outside. As the woman complied and tried to put the jewellery in her bag, a third man tried to distract her as the men tried to snatch the jewellery. As they failed to rob the woman, a fourth person helped them flee the spot on a two-wheeler, according to the complainant.

“One of them told her that his senior officer is calling her. Took her to a second person who posed as a senior officer. The second person told her that she is making a mistake by roaming around wearing jewellery. A third person walked by and the man pretending to be a senior officer yelled at him for wearing jewellery as well. The poser officer made him take off jewellery and put it in his bag. The complainant then followed suit and started putting her jewellery in her bag when the first man tried to put his hand in her bag. The woman raised an alarm and told them to not touch her bag. The people walking around the area started gathering and the two ran away. We checked the CCTV camera footage and found that the two posers, the third person, and one bike rider (who did not get involved) were working together,” said assistant inspector Santosh Patil of Wakad police station who is investigating the case.

A case under Sections 393 (attempt to commit robbery), 170 (personating public servant), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code was registered at Wakad police station.