After his arrest in 2007 for posing as PSI and later in 2014, this time Sawant promoted himself to senior inspector and duped job seekers by promising govt jobs
Mira Road : The 43-year-old impersonator who landed into the custody of Local Crime Branch unit of the Thane (rural) police for duping jobseekers by posing as a cop has turned out to be a habitual offender who has a history of committing such crimes since 2007.
According to the police, the accused identified as Lalit Omprakash Sawant (43) after his arrest in 2007 by the Vasai police for posing as a sub-inspector, promoted himself promoted to the station in-charge and now as a senior police officer.
Even as the trial in other previous cases were on, the out-on-bail trickster who started a fresh job-for-money racket has been booked under sections 420, 467, 471,406 and 170 of the IPC.
A resident of HDIL Park in Virar (west), Sawant currently operated from a xerox center in Borivali where he lured unemployed youngsters under the pretext of helping them secure government jobs. Following complaints registered by Vitthal Gurkhe and Deepak Nakhati that they had been cheated of Rs 1.4 lakh and Rs 90,000 respectively, a LCB team arrested Sawant and handed him over to the Kashimira police.
Boasting about his influential connections, Sawant had assured the aspirants jobs in the railway department and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). But, when the candidates did not receive any appointment letter even after several months, they started demanding their money back.
Sawant continued to deceive them, however, with relentless pressure he handed over appointment letters. But the trick was up when the aspirants checked the authenticity of the letter and found it to be fake and fabricated. “Investigations revealed that Sawant has a history of committing such impersonation. He was earlier arrested by the Vasai police when he was found masquerading as a police sub-inspector in 2007 and later as station-in-charge by the Mira Road police last year,” said assistant police inspector Subash Chavhan who has appealed other victims cheated by Sawant to come forward and register their complaints.
With his attire, physical attributes, hair cut and mannerisms similar to cops, Sawant has a penchant for khaki and is notorious for duping people by impersonating police officials.
Suresh Golani
