Man held for posing as cop, duping theft victims in Maharashtra's Latur

LATUR: A 25-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a police officer to cheat people under the pretext of helping recover stolen property in Maharashtra’s Latur district, officials said.

The accused, identified as Vijay Aniruddha Kadam (25), a resident of Parbhani, was apprehended on Monday by the Local Crime Branch following a probe into multiple complaints of cheating in the district, a police release said Tuesday.

Police said Kadam tracked theft cases reported in newspapers, obtained victims’ contact details and approached them posing as a police officer. To gain their trust, he showed a video of himself purportedly attending a UPSC interview and used fake documents, including a forged panchnama with a false identity.

The Crime Branch team received a tip-off about a man near New Renapur Naka who was impersonating a police officer and duping people. Acting on the input, police laid a trap and apprehended him. A search led to the seizure of Rs 4.3 lakh in cash from his possession.

During interrogation, Kadam told police that he promised victims recovery of their stolen valuables and extracted large sums of money from them.

In one such case, a complainant from Ahmedpur was duped of Rs 5 lakh on March 19 after being assured recovery of stolen gold, police said. Of the amount, the accused had spent Rs 70,000, while the remaining Rs 4.3 lakh was recovered.

He also admitted to committing similar frauds over the past two years in Nanded and Parbhani districts, police said, adding that teams from these districts are coordinating to probe his involvement in other cases.

A case has been registered against him at Ahmedpur police station in Latur under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police have appealed to the public to remain vigilant and verify the identity of anyone claiming to be a police officer before engaging with them.