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40-year-old out on bail cheats women of gold in Kalyan
A 40-year-old man posing as a police officer and cheating elderly women for gold ornaments was arrested by the Bazarpeth police here.
A 40-year-old man posing as a police officer and cheating elderly women for gold ornaments was arrested by the Bazarpeth police here.
The accused is a history-sheeter and was released on bail in May to avoid over-crowding in jails after Covid-19 pandemic spread.
Police said Rajendra, alias Raju Nair, 40 and a resident of Vashi, was arrested on October 6 and remanded to police custody till October 10.
“We have arrested him and solved two cases he committed recently. We have recovered 34 grams of gold. He used to steal to fund his drinking habit and to look after his family,” said Yashwant Chavan, senior police inspector, Bazarpeth police station.
Police said Nair committed two cheating cases in August and September. In August, he cheated a 70-year-old woman Lata Patavle and took her gold chain pretending to be a police officer. “He took gold ornaments weighing 17 grams and worth ₹50,000 asked the woman to bring the bills to check the originality. When the woman returned with the bill only to find the man missing, she approached the police and registered a cheating case.
“Similarly, in September, he cheated an elderly woman of 17 gm gold. The woman claimed the accused pretended to be an officer and asked her the gold to check whether it’s real or fake,” said a police officer.
Pramod Sanap, assistant police inspector of Bazarpeth police station, said: “We started the investigation and with the help of local sources, found about Nair being released on bail. We arrested him and he confessed to these thefts.”
Nair had more than 10 cases of similar crimes against him in the past. He had been arrested earlier in cases registered at different police stations including Ulhasanagar, Central Line, Vitthalwadi, Kalyan, Vashi and Railways.
“He was release in May but was not active on the field amidst lockdown. In August, after people started coming, out he started taking advantage,” added Sanap.