Man posing as cop to dupe Mumbai women constables had flunked police recruitment exam

A week after Kalamboli police arrested a 28-year-old man for posing as a police sub-inspector (PSI) and duping at least three women constables of the Mumbai Police, investigators found that the accused had failed to get selected to the police recruitment.

The accused Milind Deshmukh, a resident of Palghar district, attempted the police recruitment exam a couple of years ago, said police. “He failed to make the selection but continued making friends in the constabulary. Eventually, he started duping women constables by either promising them marriage or by taking money from them,” said an officer from Kalamboli police station.

The police investigation revealed that Deshmukh, who was arrested on October 26, was previously arrested by Vashi police, Rabale police and Rabale MIDC police over a year and a half ago. In the Rabale case, Deshmukh conned a Thane woman constable of ₹1.75 lakh.

The accused had a pattern of targeting women constables of the same force. Previously, he started duping Thane police constables, and this year, he conned Mumbai Police constables. He has stuck to his modus operandi after he successfully conned a few women at the start of his criminal career, said police.

Investigators have not recovered any fake uniform from Deshmukh’s possession. They did, however, discover that he had uploaded a profile picture to give the appearance that he was in uniform.

“The profile he created in the name of fictitious sub-inspector Ganesh More has a slightly cropped image, so it looks like he is in a uniform. He tricks women after continuing conversations with them on messaging applications, and tells them that his display picture is of him in uniform,” said Sanjay Sadigale, assistant inspector at Kalamboli police station.

Police have meanwhile contacted other women constables he allegedly duped.