Fake bank agents rob 74-yr-old woman

To Indumati Ved, 74, her doorbell ringing is like alarm bells ringing.

When this correspondent visited her residence at Sarojini Nagar, Santacruz (west), on Tuesday, she was so scared that she refused to open the door. She spoke to DNA for over half an hour, all the while trembling behind the grill doors of her apartment.

And it was only natural. She was robbed on Monday after she had let in a stranger, and wouldn’t take a second chance.

On Monday afternoon, a woman in her early 20s rang the doorbell. When Indumati answered, she introduced herself as a representative of the Standard Chartered Bank. “She said that her bank had come up with a new scheme for senior citizens and she wanted to explain it to me,” Indumati told DNA.

She let her in, and the woman talked for a while, explaining her the scheme. “The scheme she explained was unrealistic - she said that the bank had decided to give 10 per cent monthly interest on a deposit of Rs10,000. I told her that I did not have the money to invest,” recalled Indumati.

At this point, the woman asked for a glass of water and Indumati went into the kitchen to fetch it. Almost immediately two men barged into the house and closed the door.

“The woman said that they too were bank representatives. The moment I came out of the kitchen, the two men tied up my hands and legs and also gagged me,” said Indumati.
Then, they found the keys to her almirah and rummaged it. “They found Rs2,500 in cash and also took away my cheque book,” said Indumati.

Immediately after the three had left her apartment, Indumati dragged herself to the phone and somehow managed to free her hands and called the police. Within minutes, more than 15 police vehicles reached the spot.

“We have recorded Indumati’s statement and are preparing sketches of the three,” said Dilip Gaikwad, Senior PI of Santacruz police station.