The police on Sunday arrested G. Shanmugadurai (49) of Saligramam in Chennai, and Meenakumari (40) who was accompanying him on the charges of cheating by claiming to be a Deputy Inspector General of Police.
The police said that he went around various shops the man was claiming had claimed that he belonged to various wings of the Central and State Police to his convenience. In Coimbatore he is said to have availed himself of a police escort to shop at a few retail outlets.
Shopkeepers and the police grew suspicious of his activities when he refused to pay.
ADVERTISEMENT
He refused to produce an identity card and picked up a quarrel with them.
He was taken to police station on Saturday.
A leading steel trader from R.S. Puram lodged a complaint alleging that the man had obtained money from him for doing him a favour but cheated him.
ADVERTISEMENT
The two were booked under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 170 (personating a public servant), 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code.
They were produced before Judicial Magistrate-IV of Coimbatore A. Deepa who remanded them in judicial custody.