Some conmen are preying on unsuspecting citizens posing as election officers or police personnel.
Posing as a special officer deputed for election duty, a man robbed a software engineer who was chatting with his friend on the mobile phone after parking his car near the kerb on Sarjapura Road on Monday night.
The victim, Suresh Subramanyam, works for an IT company. He received a phone call from his friend while he was driving. He pulled to the side of the road to answer the call. A few minutes later, a man on a scooter approached him and asked him why he had parked on the road. He allegedly claimed to be an officer with the special task force deployed for elections and advised Suresh not to park his car on the road citing security reasons.
He pointed out to a gold chain and ring that Suresh was wearing, and told him he should remove them. As Suresh was complying, the man grabbed the jewellery and the car’s ignition key before speeding away.
When Suresh started yelling that the key chain also had his house keys, the conman threw the house keys before speeding away.
The total value of the gold valuables is estimated to be around ₹75,000, said the police.
Businessman loses Rs. 50 lakh
In another incident, four men dressed as personnel of Central Armed Force (CAF) robbed a businessman of ₹50 lakh in Upparpet on Thursday.
The victim, Dhanush, owns a hardware store. He was carrying the cash to give to his friend. While he was at Majestic, four men in CAF uniforms approached him. They claimed to be on election duty, conducted a search and confiscated the money.
They asked Dhanush to accompany them to the police station in their car. When they reached the police station, the men told him to get down and wait near the gate. While he followed their instructions, they sped away.
The businessman realised he had been robbed and approached the police for help.
