Nagpada resident Peerbhai Sumra thought that he had come up with an ingenious idea to stay out of jail when he sent another man pretending to be him to court.
Nagpada resident Peerbhai Sumra thought that he had come up with an ingenious idea to stay out of jail when he sent another man pretending to be him to court. However, thanks to an alert police constable, Sumra and his accomplice were soon put behind bars.
On January 1, the traffic police had booked Sumra, 48, for drunk driving. He was told to be present in the Mazgaon court on Friday. However, one Mohammad Hussain Abdul Sheikh, 27, appeared at the court claiming to be Sumra. The whole sham came to light when constable P Khot realised the difference in their age.
Harish Baijal, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said, “Sheikh had claimed in front of the court that he was Sumra. He admitted that he was drunk at the time police caught him. The court was about to deliver the sentence. At that time, Khot realised that Sheikh was an impostor.”
Baijal said that Khot got suspicious when he realised that Sumra was 48 years old, but the man who appeared in court looked relatively younger. He brought this to the court’s attention. Later, Agripada police booked Sumra and Sheikh under the Motor Vehicle Act as well as for cheating.
According to officials, Sumra would have been sentenced for two months for driving in an inebriated state. However, now he will have to serve harsher punishment for his deceit. “We suspect that Sumra gave Sheikh money and asked him to go to jail instead of him,” added Baijal.
In another case, the traffic police caught a drunk driver twice within an hour on Thursday. Rajan Patel, 46, was first caught at Worli Naka for riding his bike under the influence of alcohol. The police charged him Rs2,000 as fine and also confiscated his licence. At that time, his pillion rider Subhash (name changed) told the police that he also possessed a driving licence and he would take Patel home.
“Subhash rode the bike only till Haji Ali junction. Patel insisted on riding again and asked Subhash to sit behind. However, they were stopped by the traffic police at Girgaum chowpatty,” said Baijal.
When Patel failed the breathalyser test, the cops once again asked him to pay a fine of Rs2,000. “His licence will be cancelled for committing the same crime twice,” said Baijal. “Usually, people take the police for granted. We will follow such cases till their logical end,” an officer from traffic department said.
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