Man arrested for cheating people of their jewellery

A 45-year-old man was arrested from Uttarakhand for cheating senior citizens by posing as a policeman. The police are on the lookout for three other accomplices

A 45-year-old man was arrested from Uttarakhand for cheating senior citizens by posing as a policeman. The police are on the lookout for three other accomplices who are wanted in several cases across Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

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Firoz Mojiuddin used to operate in a gang of four and approach unsuspecting elderly men and women walking along the road. They posed as policemen and warned pedestrians of rampart robberies in the vicinity. They would ask the women to remove their jewellery and keep them in a plastic bag. When the women would be convinced, the accused would walk with them for a distance holding their bag of gold and then run away with valuables, said police.

They would also pose as holy men and approach senior citizens, pretending to bless their gold ornaments. By tricking them and distracting their targets, the accused would get them to remove the jewellery and keep it in a bag and subsequently make an escape.

“We recently had four such incidents in our jurisdiction. After scanning the CCTV footage, they were identified and then we traced one of them to a village in Uttarakhand,” said D Dhakne, inspector at Khandeshwar police station.

Following Mojiuddin’s arrest, the police recovered ₹3.61 lakh worth valuables from him which he had hidden. Officials said Mojiuddin and his gang would act quickly and after stealing gold. They would melt them and redesign them for sale to avoid getting caught.

The police said Mojiuddin will be handed over to the Chembur police under whose jurisdiction he has committed similar offences. In Navi Mumbai, the accused has cheated pedestrians in Khanda Colony, Panvel, Kalamboli and Vashi.