Mumbai lawyer loses ₹5 lakh to scammers posing as crime branch officials
The victim, a Mumbai lawyer, was approached by two men claiming to be crime branch officials outside an ATM.
Two unidentified individuals posing as crime branch officers have absconded with ₹5 lakh from a lawyer in Mumbai, said police.
The Khar police have registered a case against the perpetrators, who claimed themselves as crime branch officials and robbed the lawyer under the pretence of conducting an investigation.
According to the Khar police, the victim, 37-year-old Tausif Sheikh, is a lawyer residing in Bandra. Sheikh lodged a complaint stating that his relatives are involved in a tourism business, handling tasks such as booking air and railway tickets and money transfers. The collected funds are deposited into the company's account.
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How did the scammers approach the lawyer?
Sheikh's complaint details that his brother had given him ₹5.70 lakh to deposit into two customer accounts. Sheikh planned to deposit the money the following morning. After depositing ₹70,000 into one account via an ATM, Sheikh was approached by two men at the ATM entrance. The men claimed to be crime branch officials and demanded that Sheikh accompany them for questioning.
According to the police, the impostors then forced Sheikh into a car, inspected his bag filled with money, and interrogated him about the cash. They subsequently drove him a short distance before abandoning him. Distressed, Sheikh returned home and informed his brother about the robbery.
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Upon learning of the incident, Sheikh's brother promptly reported the crime to the police.
The Khar police have now filed a case against the two suspects and have commenced an investigation into the matter.
In an earlier incident, an IT professional from Vasai lost ₹1.41 crore to criminals posing as law enforcement officers. The scammers placed the victim under “digital arrest", claiming he was being investigated by the Intelligence Bureau in Bengaluru for a ₹500 crore scam.