Nagpur: Beware Nagpurians, particularly the senior citizens, as a gang of bogus policemen has become active again in the city. The gang went on a robbery spree on Thursday. Within a span of three hours, the bike-borne self-styled cops duped four senior citizens and a middle-aged man in Ambazari, Beltarodi, Hudkeshwar, MIDC and Kotwali police jurisdictions and made away with gold ornaments collectively worth over Rs 5.38 lakh.
According to sources, donning khaki outfits, two bike-borne gang members first targeted 75-year-old Shripad Madhavrao Patil on the turning near Pradeshik Vidya Vikas Pradhikaran, a few metres from C P Club, Civil Lines at around 7.30 am. A resident of Government Quarter, Ravi Nagar, Patil was returning home after a morning walk. Alerting him of spurt in theft cases in the area, the fake cops asked him to remove his gold chain and a ring and keep them inside. One of the tricksters gave him a piece of paper to wrap the ornaments. The other, then stealthily removed the gold chain and a ring worth over Rs 70,000 on the pretext of wrapping them in it by distracting his attention. The robber duo then sped away.
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The same gang members, in the second incident, intercepted Suresh Kisanrao Bhagat (65), a resident of Uruvela Colony,near MIDC T-Point, at around 8.30 am. Bhagat was on his way home after dropping his wife at Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, Digdoh Hills. They told him that a woman was murdered nearby by robbers who are on a looting spree in the locality. The “cops” advised him to keep the gold chain and ring worn by him in his pocket. Using similar modus operandi as in the case of Patil, they fled with the ornaments after diverting Bhagat’s attention.
In the third incident, three of the gang members, who were triple seat on a motorcycle, accosted Ashok Kumar Deshbhratar (65), a resident of Chiranjiv Nagar (Narendra Nagar extension), near Christino Hotel at Manish Nagar around 9.10 am. Masquerading as policemen, they relieved Deshbhratar of his two gold rings and a gold chain worth Rs 1.28 lakh using the same trick.
In the fourth incident that took place in Hudkeshwar area at around 10 am, four men on two motorcycles stopped Krishnarao Pundalik Bokade (65), a resident of Rajeshwar Nagar, near Badwaik Dairy at around 10.30 am. Posing as cops, they asked Bokade to wear a mask while riding a two-wheeler. They tricked him into giving them his gold ornaments worth Rs 42,000 and sped away.
Similarly, in another incident in Kotwali area, the crooks looted a gold ring worth Rs 18,000 from Kailash Rameshwar Sharma (60) at Apsara Chowk.
Following complaints lodged by all the four aged victims, Ambazari, MIDC, Beltarodi, Hudkeshwar and Kotwali Police registered separate cases under Sections 420, 170 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and mounted a hunt to nab the gang of bogus cops.
