Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 2 has arrested a man who posed as an IPS officer and cheated a shop owner using forged documents, including a fake Aadhaar card. The victim, a 24-year-old shop owner, runs a business in South Mumbai’s Crawford Market area. The accused, identified as Sandeep Gosavi, was detained on July 8 following a complaint filed at Azad Maidan Police Station.
The shop owner, Nazim Qasim Kachchi, who owns Saqebi Collection near Crawford Market, filed a complaint stating that around a year ago, he met a man identifying himself as Sandeep Karnik, claiming to be a senior police officer. Last month, in June, the fake IPS officer visited the shop and claimed that he had forgotten his mobile phone in a car in Nagpur.
Later, the accused requested to borrow Kachchi’s smartphone for temporary use. Trusting him, Kachchi handed over his old phone. When the shop owner later requested its return, the accused stopped responding to his calls. He had also promised to pay Rs 14,000 for the phone but never did.
Suspecting fraud, Kachchi made inquiries and discovered that the accused was not a police officer and had duped others under similar pretenses. Acting on a tip that the accused would be near the Aarey Sarita stall outside the Police Commissioner’s Gate No. 5 late at night on July 7, Kachchi alerted police officers known to him.
The accused was then taken to the Crime Branch office, where Kachchi’s stolen phone was recovered from his possession. During interrogation, the accused admitted to using multiple identities and deceiving civilians by impersonating a police officer. A forged Aadhaar card bearing the name Dinesh Bodulal Dixit but carrying his photograph was also seized.