Dahisar Police arrested two men for abducting a betel shop owner and fleecing him of cash and cigarette packets worth ₹69,000 on knifepoint. The accused duo had posed as policemen, questioning the complainant why was he opening his betel shop despite the lockdown rules specifically not giving any permission. The duo has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According to police sources, the incident occurred in the first week of May, when the complainant had stepped out of his betel nut shop in Anand Nagar at Dahisar and was approached by two men, who introduced themselves as policemen. The duo, later identified as Sandeep Khot and Ramesh Mishra, posed as policemen and told the complainant that he was violating the lockdown laws announced by the state government by keeping the betel nut shop open for which he needs to come down for investigation. The duo also stashed a pa let of cigarettes from the complainant's shop in their car and drove towards Kashimira in Mira Road (E).
After reaching Kashimira, Khot and Mishra held the complainant at knifepoint and looted him of ₹7,000 cash and fled with the cash, cigarette packets valued at ₹62,000. Realising that he has been duped and the duo were imposters, the betel nut shop owner approached Dahisar Police and lodged a complaint of kidnapping, theft and cheating.
A police team was formed and they scrutinised the CCTV camera footage of the area where the incident occurred, but had no leads. During the probe, police saw a car's registration number, which was traced to Khot and Mishra, and acting on tip-off from police informers, it was learnt that the duo were residents of Nalasopara.
Om Totawar, assistant police inspector said that the duo was caught when they were about to dupe another man using the same modus operandi. They were immediately arrested and booked under relevant sections of the IPC and investigation has revealed that they are history sheeters, having cases of cheating registered against them in several police stations.
