Five men, posing as vigilance officers enforcing election code restrictions, allegedly duped a businessman out of ₹25.5 lakh in Kolhapur on Tuesday morning. The incident occurred near the Tawde Hotel Flyover along the Pune-Bengaluru highway.
The accused approached Subhash Laxman Harane, 50, of Bagal Chowk, Shahupuri, Kolhapur, while he was returning home after completing his business at a rural fair. Harane, who operates a cradle rental business for fairs, had withdrawn the cash from earnings the previous day. The men, claiming to be vigilance officers, asked Harane if he was carrying any cash and informed him that carrying such an amount violated election code restrictions.
The suspects, who escorted Harane to their car, claimed they needed to verify the money and offered to take him to the police station. Once inside the vehicle, the group took Harane's bag and phone. One of the imposters even suggested a "compromise" to avoid further trouble. Harane insisted they follow legal procedures, but as the car deviated from the route to the police station, he grew suspicious and asked to be released.
The suspects then dropped Harane near Sarnobatwadi and fled with the cash and phone. Harane later filed a complaint with Gandhinagar Police Station.
Police have identified the suspects’ blue car and have launched a manhunt. Special Inspector General of Police Sunil Phulari said the case is expected to be solved in two days. “We are following leads and expect to make arrests soon,” Phulari added.
Police also questioned Harane for six hours on Wednesday. Authorities are also looking into why Harane had such a large amount of cash, and whether anyone else was involved in the incident.
Harane told police he had been robbed of money in Karnataka four years ago, but officers are still working to determine the exact details of the case.