Nagpur: Unit 3 of the Nagpur Crime Branch swiftly acted to apprehend two individuals who masqueraded as police officers to rob a salesman employed by Sony Friends Private Limited of Rs 10 lakh in the Lakadganj area on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Mangesh Narayan Dehankar (31), residing in Lonara, Kalmeshwar, and Sagar Ashok Patil (34), residing in Bhuyari Shirpur, Kalmeshwar.
According to police sources, the accused duo, posing as law enforcement officers, robbed Anurag Pandey, the complainant, of Rs 10 lakh at Ambedkar Chowk under the jurisdiction of the Lakadganj police station. This incident has instilled fear among traders in Itwari and East Nagpur.
On the evening of the incident, Anurag had collected Rs 10 lakh from a garment factory in Ganjakhet around 6 pm. Accompanied by a colleague, Anurag transported the money in a bag on a bike, en route to deliver it to a trader named Kunal at Ambedkar Chowk.
Around 6:30 pm, near Kunal’s flat, two individuals on a bike approached them, falsely identifying themselves as police officers and presenting counterfeit police IDs. They accused Anurag of involvement in illegal activities, demanding to inspect the bag. Subsequently, they forcefully snatched the bag from Anurag.
The accused then coerced Anurag to ride on their bike. After traveling approximately 500 meters, they instructed him to accompany them to the Crime Branch office at Gittikhadan before fleeing the scene. Anurag promptly reported the incident to his employer after realizing the scam. Following an investigation, his employer reported the matter to the Lakadganj police station.
Unit 3 of the Crime Branch, after a thorough technical investigation, successfully identified and arrested the accused duo. Additionally, Rs 9.50 lakh of the stolen amount was recovered, and the bike used in the crime was seized. The arrest was carried out under the supervision of senior officers, including Unit 3 PI Mukund Thakre, PSI Madhukar Kathoke, PSI Dashrath Mishra, Ishwar Khorde, Police Constable Santoshsingh Thakur, Naik Police Amaldar Anil Botare, Police Amaldar Deepak Lakhade, Jitesh Reddy, Deepak Dasarwar, and Vishal Rokde.
It is noteworthy that due to heightened enforcement during the elections, hawala operations in Itwari had slowed down. However, post-election, criminal activities have surged, making the area a prime target for criminals.
