Pretending to be a cop, man arrested for cheating Pune resident of Rs 51 lakh

Police said Shinde allegedly continued to pose as a police officer and became friendly with Mundada and his family. In 2017, he allegedly told Mundada that he has good contacts in the Customs Department, and assured him that his son and nephew would get jobs there using his contacts.

He allegedly took Rs 51 lakh from Mundada in multiple instalments since 2017, but did not fulfill the job assurances. He, along with his accomplice Sulochana Sonawane, allegedly shared some documents with Mundada, claiming they were documents for the job.

He also allegedly took Mundada’s son to Mumbai to conduct a ‘medical test required for the job’. According to the complainant, on May 10, 2019, Shinde told him that he had been injured in a road accident and all his cell phones would be switched off for some time.

Last week, Shinde against called Mundada and told him that he was coming to Pune to give joining letters to his son and nephew. He asked Mundada to be ready with the rest of the money.

Mundada and his nephew went to meet Shinde on Monday. However, they became suspicious when they saw that Mundada was wearing the uniform of a police sub-inspector but his name plate mentioned the designation of assistant police inspector. They immediately informed the police. Shinde tried to run away, but the cops nabbed him. Police have booked him under sections 170, 171, 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

Police Sub-Inspector Shrikant Savant, investigating officer of this case, said, “A court has remanded the accused to police custody for three days. We also arrested his accomplice. Further investigation is on. We appeal to citizens to contact us if they were also cheated by the accused posing as a police officer.”

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