Mumbai: The Kasturba Marg police have arrested a suspended police constable, along with two other accused, for allegedly cheating a Kandivali resident to the tune of Rs five lakh. The accused called the victim to a hotel with the money in cash, promising to sanction a loan of Rs five crore for him, after which the constable conducted a 'police raid' and decamped with the money.
According to the Kasturba Marg police, the offence was committed between 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. on June 15 at the Ramdev Hotel near the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali. The police said that the accused assured the complainant that they could facilitate a quick loan of Rs five crore for him, in exchange for a ‘processing fee’ of Rs five lakh. Accordingly, the complainant reached the hotel with the cash and handed the money over to the main accused, identified as Azhar Patel.
“While Patel was pretending to complete the formalities of the loan process, a second man reached the spot and identified himself as a policeman. Immediately, Patel took the bag containing the cash and fled the scene, followed by the supposed cop,” an officer with the Kasturba Marg police said.
The victim subsequently registered a complaint and the police obtained Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera footage of the hotel as well as Patel’s number from the complainant. Using both these clues, the police traced Patel to Jaisingpur in Kolhapur and arrested him.
“Patel’s interrogation revealed that the person who conducted the fake raid was actually Ramsing Dolge, a constable with the Maharashtra Police who was suspended from service in 2016. He was subsequently arrested from the police colony in Naigaon, Dadar, while another accused, identified as Ganesh Belwatkar, was arrested from Nallasopara,” the officer said.
The police have so far recovered Rs 4.15 lakh from the arrested accused and also identified two more persons who were part of the crime. Investigations are underway to trace and apprehend them and the police suspect that they have the rest of the money. The accused have been charged with cheating and impersonation of a public servant under the Indian Penal Code.
