Iraqi cancer patient duped of $1,000 by fake policemen in Gurugram

The police said the accused asked the victim for his passport and checked his luggage for narcotics, claiming they were conducting an inspection in plainclothes.

A fortnight after an Iraqi national arrived in the city for cancer treatment, he was allegedly duped of $1,000 by an inter-city gang of four men, who posed as police personnel. The police said the accused asked the victim for his passport and checked his luggage for narcotics, claiming they were conducting an inspection in plainclothes.

Businessman taking pile of money, Indian Rupee banknotes, on his desk in a dark office - corruption concept (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

According to the police, the incident took place on October 20 evening when the complainant, Hussein Abdul Ameer Ali (46), who is suffering from cancer, and his friend were waiting for a third friend near Kamilia Palace Hotel opposite Medanta Hospital.The police said that as per the complainant, four men who claimed to be police officers stopped their car and asked for their passports.

“I did not have my passport with me. They (accused) asked me to hand over my handbag to check for drugs. My friend and I were scared. While going through the contents of the handbag, they stole $1,000 and threw the bag at me from the car. When the hotel guard walked towards them, they drove away,” the victim stated in a written complaint at the Sadar police station.

“The victim had come to Gurugram on October 7 for cancer treatment. He did not report the incident earlier as he was undergoing chemotherapy,” Matloob Alam, an advocate at district court Saket who offered legal assistance to the victim, said.

A case has been registered against the unknown accused under sections 379 and 34 of the IPC at the Sadar police station, the police said.

The investigating official, requesting anonymity, said that the police were seeking assistance from the police in Delhi, where a similar incident took place on October 19.

In Lajpat Nagar around 8pm on October 19, a Baghdad-based couple was robbed of $3,000 by a man, who allegedly stole the money on the pretext of checking their bags for ‘drugs’.