Santacruz Police arrested a 50-year-old man for allegedly duping an autorickshaw driver and scolding him for reckless driving, posing as a policeman. The accused imposter scolded the driver, sought his vehicle documents, took his wallet and then escaped. The accused turned out to be a criminal on record, after which he was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
According to Santacruz police sources, the accused, identified as, Salim Nabi Shaikh had got in an autorickshaw for a ride from Juhu on July 7. Shaikh asked the driver to ferry him from Juhu to Bandra ans then drop him back at Santacruz (W). When the three-wheeler reached Linking Road, there were a few potholes on the road, due to which Shaikh bumped his head once in the auto.
Meting out the frustration, Shaikh shouted at the driver, claiming to be a policeman and demanded to see the driver's license. Shaikh also asked the driver to produce his wallet to cross check his identity with the license. While examining the license and wallet in his hand, on the pretext that he is a policeman and has a right to do so, Shaikh fled the spot, leaving the auto driver in a lurch.
Realising that he was duped, the auto driver immediately approached Santacruz Police and registered a police complaint. Based on the complaint, police scrutinized the CCTV camera footage of the area and identified the accused as Shaikh, a resident of Shastri Nagar in Santacruz (W), and was arrested on Thursday.
Shaikh, who has a past criminal history, used the same modus operandi of posing as a policeman and then tricking, cheating the people into giving their money, valuables to him. He was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for impersonating a policeman and cheating, following which he was produced before a local magistrate court and remanded in police custody till July 12.
