We often hear of incidents where unscrupulous elements manage to pull the wool over the eyes of the public. In this case, the newspapers brought a story about 3 unidentified persons posing as police and attempting to relieve a Miramar resident of her gold ornaments. These impersonators have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and an investigation is under progress.
The impersonators were thwarted by a lady residing in Miramar
Going by a complaint made by one Neelima Mahatma, victim and resident of Kamat Kinara in Miramar, the police apprehended and booked the 3 impersonators on the above charges.
The incident happened early Sunday morning when Ms. Mahatme was on her way home after her walk at 8 am. According to the police, Ms. Mahatme was approached by a young well-dressed man who spoke to her in Hindi. He told her his ‘saab’ wanted to speak with her. “I asked him who is he. He replied that he is a police constable from Panaji police station. I turned back and saw a gentleman standing outside Serenity (apartments). I went up to him and he asked me why I did not halt when he told me to halt and that he is a police inspector from Panaji police station and appointed for patrolling,” she said.
When she asked what was going on, the man told her that she could not go for a walk alone, wearing gold jewelry. He added that he had orders to tell women to remove the gold ornaments they were wearing.
The man, now known-to-be a part of a gang of police impersonators, told Mahatme that she should take off her bangles and gold chain and put them in the bag he was holding. “To that, I told him I will remove the ornaments on reaching home and will stop wearing them from tomorrow. To this, he was stubborn and ordered me to remove my bangles,” said Mahatme.
Still suspicious…
Mahatme kept saying no to the police impersonator. “I asked for his ID card. He showed it to me and it looked fake. I found that my vision was getting blurred for a few seconds. I tried to look for a police vehicle but there wasn’t any. There was a white scooter, but again my sight was blurred. I tried to gain my nerves and moved away from them,” said Mahatme.
Eventually, Mahatme managed to get away from the police impersonators, with her gold ornaments safely tucked in her own bag. The man finally stopped asking Mahatme and told her that she would have to go to the station to which she said she would go by herself. She also bought herself some time by mentioning the name of a senior police officer who was her student. It was then that he let her go.
It is reported that the incident details were also shared on a mobile messaging app.
Information credit – https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/fake-cops-prey-on-miramar-woman-for-gold-ornaments/articleshow/64548556.cms
http://www.navhindtimes.in/fake-cops-bid-to-rob-gold-ornaments-at-miramar-foiled/
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