Mumbai: A yoga instructor from Santacruz West was cheated by two men posing as policemen, collecting money to distribute clothes and food to the poor. The complainant, Anand Joshi, 67, lodged a complaint at Santacruz police station on Wednesday, saying that he was convinced with the narrative that his neighbour donated Rs10,000 and was shown a fake entry in a register.
Victim Duped via Fake QR Code
When Joshi asked about payment, they asked him to scan a QR code, and he transferred Rs2,000. Later, his neighbour informed him that the men were impostors. It was found that their uniforms were fake and they had arrived on a motorcycle.
In a separate case on Thursday, a hotel and lodge owner, Ratikrushna Patnaik, 55, from Goregaon West, complained to Bangur Nagar police on Thursday of being cheated by a man posing as a crime branch officer named ‘Prakash’ seeking a room, purportedly for VIP bandobast duty. When the lodge staff later asked him for his ID or payment, he refused, allegedly threatened them, and left without paying.

In both cases, offences have been registered under Section 204 (personating a public servant) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
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