Mumbai: Three arrested for ‘posing as fake cops’

The complainant, Ashish Pandey, owns a shop at Jamnadas Building in Matunga. “…I had gone for lunch. My brother-in-law, Santosh, was managing the shop. The trio came and started questioning Santosh about selling guthka illegally. They had even ransacked my shop and threatened to register a case against Santosh,” he told the police.

Santosh called the complainant and had asked him to come to the shop. “When I reached the shop, they started accusing me and said they would seal my shop if I fail to hand them Rs 15,000. I negotiated…we agreed on Rs 6,000. I gave them Rs 3,000 and asked them to wait for the rest of the amount,” he added.

The complainant went to the police control room and informed the officers. “A team was instantly dispatched and the three were nabbed from the spot. We found Rs 40,000 from their pockets. The three claim that this was the first time they have committed the crime. One of the accused, Batkar, said that he was employed with a weekly newspaper,” said an officer from Matunga police station.

The three were booked under sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty inducing delivery of property) 170 (personating a public servant) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

They were produced in court and have been remanded in judicial custody.