Mumbai: 78-Year-Old Woman Duped By 2 Fake Cops On Bandra's Hill Road; Gold Bangles Worth ₹1.4 Lakh Stolen, FIR Filed

Mumbai: A 78-year-old woman was robbed by two fake policemen on Hill Road in Bandra West on Monday. While the woman was walking, two men approached her, claimed they were policemen, showed her an identity card, and told her that a man was coming towards her with a knife.

They then asked her to remove her gold bangles for safety. She followed his instructions, and using sleight of hand, the fake policemen stole her bangles worth Rs 1.40 lakh. The Bandra police have registered an FIR against two unidentified individuals for allegedly impersonating a public servant and cheating. The case was lodged on July 21.

About The Case

According to the FIR, the complainant, A. D'Cruz, resides near Mehboob Studio on Hill Road, Bandra West. On Monday at 6.40 am, she started walking from her residence to St Andrew’s Church to pray. Around 6.50 am, she arrived near Khoja Florist, close to the church. At that time, an individual called her “aunty” twice and approached her. He claimed he was a policeman and showed her an identity card with ‘POLICE’ written in large letters. Then another individual approached her and also claimed to be a policeman.

The second man told her that a man was coming behind her with a knife and suggested that she remove her gold bangles and keep them in her bag. She trusted them and removed her bangles while the fraudsters kept her engaged in conversation. She handed the bangles to one of the men, who pretended to put them in her bag but did not do so. Instead, he secretly kept the bangles and handed the bag back to her. Afterwards, the two fake policemen left on a motorcycle.

After some time, she checked her bag but could not find her bangles. She tried to locate the two men but could not find them and realised she had been cheated. She lost two bangles weighing 20 grams, worth Rs 1.40 lakh. She then filed a complaint with the Bandra police.

The police have registered the case under sections 204 (impersonating a public servant), 3(5) (general explanation), 318(4) (cheating), 319(2) (cheating by personation), and 336(2) (forgery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.