As the second part of the Bollywood blockbuster movie- “Bunty Aur Babli” hit the silver screens on Friday, a real-life version of the reel con-couple was arrested by the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police for cheating a ration shop owner in Bhayandar (east).
The con-couple impersonated as government officers attached to the National Human Rights Body to execute their nefarious activities.
In his complaint to the police, the couple who identified themselves as Shabana Bano Balubhai Siddique (30) and her accomplice Prashant Ganga Vishnu (27) barged into his authorized fair price shop (FPS). They flashed identity cards and asked the shop owner to produce complaint books and other documents related to the public distribution of food grains and other commodities.
The accused demanded Rs. 50,000 to evade action. The shopkeeper handed over Rs. 20,000 with a promise of paying the remaining amount next week.
However, he mustered courage and registered a complaint with the Navghar police. A team led by Senior Police Inspector- Milind Desai under the supervision of Additional Commissioner-S. Jaykumar and DCP- Amit Kale (Zone I) investigated the matter and apprehended the duo who were found to be in possession of bogus identity cards and scores of letter-pads of the New Delhi-based human rights and social justice commission.
Apart from this, the recovery of a list of local fair price shops in the twin-city indicates their involvement or plan to dupe and similarly threaten other shop owners said the police.
While Siddique is a resident of Santacruz in Mumbai, her accomplice stays in Mira Road. An offence under sections 384 (extortion), 419 (cheating by personation) and 170 (impersonating a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code have been registered against the accused who have been remanded to custody. Further investigations were underway.
