3 pose as cops to extort money from couples in Mumbai; two held

The Malad police on Sunday arrested two people for allegedly impersonating police officers and extorting money from couples visiting local hotels.

An FIR was registered against the accused – Sandesh Maladkar, 44, a Nalasopara resident, and Sachin Kharvi, 37, from Ghodbunder Road – under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. George Fernandes, senior inspector, Malad police, said, “The accused were remanded in police custody for four days.” The police said they are on the lookout for another accused in the case.

The case came to light after the three accused extorted money from the complainant, a shopkeeper, who had been to a hotel in Malad with his partner on March 24. When the couple left the hotel, the accused stopped them and told them they were police officers. One of the accused threatened to inform the complainant’s wife about him being at the hotel. The accused told the complainant to pay them ₹20,000. The complainant gave the trio ₹12,000 and promised to pay the rest later. He then informed the hotel owner about the three men and gave him their description. The hotel owner saw the trio outside his property on Sunday and alerted the police, who arrested Maladkar and Kharvi. During the investigation, the police learnt that the accused had extorted money from around 10 couples.