Navi Mumbai Crime Branch Busts Fake Cop Racket; Habitual Offender Linked To 15 Cases Arrested

Navi Mumbai: Unit II of the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a seasoned criminal who posed as a police officer to cheat unsuspecting citizens of their gold ornaments. The accused, identified as Sajjad Garibshah Irani (47), a resident of Kondhwa in Pune and originally from Shrirampur in Ahmednagar district, was nabbed in Pune.

The Kharghar Con Job

According to the police, on July 31, senior citizen Pawan Kumar Ramavatar Kejriwal (68) was stopped by an unidentified man in Kharghar while shopping for household goods. Introducing himself as a police officer, the accused displayed a fake ID card and falsely claimed that one Ramesh Patil had been jailed after ganja was found at his residence. Pretending to be conducting an investigation, the imposter convinced Kejriwal to place his gold chain and ring worth ₹1.5 lakh in a bag and then escaped with the jewellery.

A case was registered at the Kharghar Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Trail Across Cities and a 20-Day Probe

Following the incident, officers of Crime Branch Unit II launched an extensive probe under the guidance of Additional CP (Crime) Deepak Sakore and DCP (Crime) Sachin Gunjal. They examined CCTV footage from Kharghar to Lonavala and Pimpri-Chinchwad for over 20 days, during which they identified a TVS Apache motorcycle (MH 15 BA 1617) used by the suspect.

Acting on a tip-off, the team laid a trap in Pune on October 12, where they detained the accused’s wife, Fiza Sajjad Irani, while she was allegedly trying to sell stolen gold ornaments.

Gold Worth ₹1.25 Crore Recovered

Police recovered 1,186 grams of gold jewellery including bangles, necklaces, mangalsutras, chains, earrings, bracelets, pendants, and rings along with fake police IDs, Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and the motorcycle used in the crime.

The total recovered property is valued at ₹1.25 crore.

Web of Deception Spanning Maharashtra

During interrogation, Sajjad Irani admitted to committing similar crimes in Navi Mumbai with the help of his associates.

“Investigations have so far revealed his involvement in 15 impersonation cases across police stations in Kharghar, Panvel, Kamothe, Khandaeshwar, Nerul, Sanpada, CBD, Rabale, and Jalgaon. We also found that the accused is a notorious habitual offender with over 100 criminal cases, including those registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA),” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Sachin Gunjal.

Master Impersonator in Custody

Irani was arrested on October 28 and has been remanded to police custody till November 6.

“The accused had mastered the art of deception, posing as a police officer and preying on innocent citizens. His arrest has helped us crack multiple impersonation and cheating cases across Navi Mumbai,” added Gunjal.

Crack Team Behind the Arrest

The operation was executed under the supervision of ACP (Crime) Ajaykumar Landge and the leadership of Senior Police Inspector Anil Patil, with coordinated efforts from PSI Eknath Desai, API Deshmukh, and police personnel Dhanwate, Dudhal, Joshi, Patil, Jejurkar, Panchal, Chandgir, Sawant, More, Gaikwad, Tandale, Bhoye, and Gaikwad from Crime Branch Unit II.