Two men pose as cops, steal 4 rings worth ₹1 lakh from 75-year-old in Navi Mumbai

Two men, posing as police officers, allegedly stole gold rings worth ₹1.17 lakh from a 75-year-old retired BEST [Brihanmumbai Electric Transport and Supply] undertaking employee, after offering to help him adjust his mask at Koparkhairane on Thursday morning.

Around 11am, the complainant, Narayan Vhatkar, was on his way to pay the electricity bill. While walking at Bonkode Road in Sector 12, Vhatkar noticed two men standing by the footpath.

“The men wear wearing white shirts and approached Vhatkar and claimed that they were police officers. One of them asked Vhatkar to wear the mask properly. The accused then asked him what he was carrying in his pockets after noticing fgold rings on his fingers,” an officer from Koparkhairane police station said.

The accused allegedly told Vhatkar that there is a police checkpoint ahead and that he should not wear gold jewellery in public. They then asked him to wrap the rings in a piece of paper and keep them in his pocket.

“Vhatkar put the rings in his pocket and asked the two men to show him their police identification cards. But the duo kept him engaged in the conversation, distracted him and walked away with the rings,” the officer said.

After walking a little further, Vhatkar did not find any uniformed police personnel and checked his pocket for the rings. When he opened the piece of paper in which he kept the rings, he realised they were missing.

The rings collectively weighed 32.5 grams, said the police. Vhatkar then approached the police, following which a case of cheating was registered against the two unidentified accused.

The police are checking the CCTV footage of the nearby areas to verify their identities and are probing the case further.