The MHB Colony police have arrested two persons for allegedly posing as officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation and taking large amounts of money from people in exchange for “settling complaints received against them”.
The accused, Ashwini Sharma and Sajid Warekar, have been active for over seven years, and have ten FIRs registered against them in various police stations in Mumbai and Pune, and one registered by the CBI, according to the MHB Colony police. Inquiries were initiated when a 50-year-old woman staying in Dahisar met Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone XI) Sangramsingh Nishandar earlier this year to complain against them.
“The duo had approached the woman and her husband around three months ago, claiming to be CBI officers, and told them that a scam had come to light in a private finance company run by them. The accused said that the couple would have to pay ₹1 crore to settle the matter. The couple paid ₹50 lakh in three intallments and gave the accused their car worth ₹27 lakh. However, the duo kept demanding more,” Mr. Nishandar said.
The MHB Colony police subsequently registered an FIR and started conducting inquiries. On Monday, the duo contacted the couple again and demanded that they hand over their other car to them. Acting on the police’s instructions, the couple asked the accused to come to their residence to collect the car. “We laid a trap near the residence and as soon as the duo showed up, we took them into our custody,” Mr. Nishandar said.
Investigating officers said that Mr. Sharma is the mastermind. “Mr. Sharma had a relative who worked with the CBI and was posted in Bandra Kurla Complex. He used the information he got from him to pass off as a CBI officer. The duo would threaten their targets with anything from serious jail time to encounters,” senior police inspector Pandit Thackeray, MHB Colony police station said.
The accused were charged with extortion and impersonation of a public servant under the Indian Penal Code, and after being produced in court on Tuesday, were remanded in police custody till November 16.
