Thieves now robbing people posing as police

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

In a shocking daylight robbery, fraudsters posing as police officers duped a 67-year-old woman and decamped with gold ornaments weighing around nine tolas in the N-3 area on Monday morning. The incident occurred around 10.30 am near Chhatrapati College. A case has been registered at Pundaliknagar police station, and the accused have been captured on CCTV cameras.

According to the complaint filed by Shrikunverbai Lunkad (67), a resident of Swami Vivekanandnagar, Garkheda, she visits the Jain temple in the N-3 area every morning at around 9.30 am and returns home on foot. On Monday, while she was walking back from the temple, two men approached her on a motorcycle and showed an identity card, claiming to be police officers. They told her that thefts were frequent in the area and advised her to remove her gold ornaments and keep them safely in her bag. Moments later, another man on a motorcycle joined them and also insisted that she remove her bangles. Trusting them, the woman removed six-tola gold bangles, a two-tola gold chain, and two rings weighing about four grams each, and placed them in her bag. The accused then offered to secure the ornaments in another bag, swapped them with imitation bangles using sleight of hand, tied three knots on the bag, and returned it to her. When she asked to see the gold again, the accused handed over the bag and fled, asking her to check it later. Upon opening it, she realised that her ornaments had been replaced. In her complaint, she further stated that when her bangles did not come off easily, the accused applied coconut oil on her hand to remove them. Further investigation is being carried out by police sub-inspector Shivprasad Karhale.

(CCTV images of the accused attached.)