The Kranti Chowk police successfully apprehended an individual posing as a policeman, with the assistance of hawkers at the Central Bus Stand (CBS) on Monday.
In the afternoon, a fake policeman arrived at CBS wearing khaki pants and a jacket adorned with the Maharashtra police logo. Approaching hawker Rahul Rubel Massi (24, Christnagar, Cantonment), the imposter claimed to be a policeman from Kranti Chowk police station. He informed Rahul that a criminal from Ahmednagar, identifiable by the letter ‘S’ on his bag, was en route to the city by bus. The fake policeman instructed Rahul to immediately report any sightings of this criminal on his mobile phone. Subsequently, the imposter repeated his fabricated story to other hawkers, accompanied by threats, and shared his mobile number.
Sensing the unusual nature of the situation and recognizing the regular police personnel from Kranti Chowk, the hawkers grew suspicious. They promptly reported the incident to the police. Responding swiftly, the police team obtained the suspect's mobile number from the hawkers, called him, and fabricated a scenario in which they claimed to have spotted the described criminal. As the conman approached the location, realizing the presence of actual police officers, he attempted to flee. However, with the assistance of hawkers and local residents, the police successfully chased and apprehended him near the Mill Corner area.
During interrogation, the imposter identified himself as Ismail Shah Rasul Shah (24) from Chincholi Nipani in Bhokardan taluka of Jalna district. He confessed to impersonating a policeman to deceive passengers arriving from other cities. The police are investigating whether he had previously duped and robbed other passengers.
