Man arrested for posing as cop

MUMBAI: A man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly posing as a policeman to con people.

A patrolling team of the Vile Parle police was out on duty around 6.30 pm when they noticed the accused with a bike having Mumbai Police stickers on the front and the back. The man was wearing brownish-red leather shoes used by cops and a cap that is part of the Mumbai police uniform with plain clothes.

Getting suspicious due to his body language, the police team asked the accused a few questions like the police station he was posted at and his badge number, but the man was not able to provide any satisfactory reply. The man was later identified as Pawan Deepak Mishra, 32, of Mira Bhayandar.

A police officer said, “We started talking to him in Marathi and asked him very basic questions about his duty station. Not only did he not have any proper answer to them, but he responded in Hindi. All Mumbai police personnel would know some basic Marathi as we use the language for record keeping as well.”

The accused was then brought to the police station for further questioning. It came to light that he was posing as a policeman with the intention of conning people.

Mishra was booked under sections 170 (pretending to be a public servant) and 419 (cheating by impersonation) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused was produced before a metropolitan magistrate court which remanded him in police custody.