One in every ten cheating cases in the city is committed by con men posing as cops, say Mumbai police. Divyesh Nair throws more insight into this band of tricksters who mostly target senior citizens
"Everyone has the right to ask for the I-card of a policeman to verify his identity and every policeman will display it with pride," said deputy commissioner of police (detection) Dhananjay Kulkarni as he appealed citizens not to fall prey to people posing as fake cops.
Con men impersonating policemen to dupe unsuspecting citizens is fast becoming a menace for the city's police force with the involvement of organised gangs. Of all the cheating cases registered by the police last year, about 10 per cent pertained to crimes committed by fake cops.
In most cases, the style of operation is simple. A group of men wearing khaki pants, white shirt and brown shoes roam around isolated spots; posing as policemen, they tell a target that there has been a murder or chain-snatching few metres ahead and the person should hide his/her jewellery; the 'extremely polite' cops offer to wrap the valuable in a piece of cloth; it's only when the person reaches home, s/he realises that the items are missing or have been replaced with fake ones.
"In several cases, we have found that the victim is a senior citizen," said DCP Kulkarni, adding that elderly citizens find it struggle to give an accurate description of the con men, which works to the advantage of the criminals.
However, there are some tricksters who try to do their job in style. Last December, the Kalachowky police arrested one Mukesh Dashrath Hande. The 34-year-old would roam the area in full police uniform and even introduce himself to the staff at Kalachowky police station claiming that he is attached to the control room. Hande reportedly had duped people on the pretext of getting them BMC contracts using his contacts.
During investigation, it was revealed that Hande had aspired to be a policeman but could not become one. Unable to give up his fetish about khaki, he would dress up like a policeman, though he always remained in the world of outlaws.
As per police records, fake cops work in gangs and select secluded places to carry out the crime. "Most of these gangs operate in the western suburbs and generally target senior citizens and lonely women in the early hours when there are fewer real policemen on the streets."
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