Mumbai: Fake cops drive off with travel firm’s Rs 5 lakh

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The Khar police are searching for three men who posed as Crime Branch officers and robbed Rs 5 lakh belonging to a travel agency that was in the custody of a man who is an advocate. The Khar police registered the FIR against three unidentified men and have started an investigation into the matter. The incident happened on Sunday at about 7.30 am in the Khar West near 16th Road.

The victim has been identified a 37-year-old resident of Bandra and an advocate. He was carrying Rs 5.70 lakh from his brother to deposit into a bank account using a cash deposit machine at an ATM. While depositing the money at the ATM, three men barged in and identified themselves as Crime Branch officers. They led him into a car under the pretext of taking him to a police station. However, while the victim believed he was on the way to the police station, they dumped him on the road and fled with the money.

The victim registered the FIR at the police that his cousins Noor Hasan, 34 and Kadir Ahmed, 35, run a travel agency in Sakinaka, which deals with flight bookings, train tickets, and money exchange. They have to deposit money daily into their bank accounts.

A police officer said, "On Saturday night, the victim collected Rs 5.70 lakh from his brother to deposit into the bank account. He had planned to deposit the money on Sunday morning and visited an ATM on 16th Road in Khar West. He deposited Rs 70,000 into one bank account and deposited the remaining amount into another account. While heading to the second bank, three men arrived, stopped him, and claimed to be from the Crime Branch."

"They told the victim they were taking him to the police station for a case and would record his video statement there. They pushed him into the car and checked the bag containing the cash.

The impostors also questioned the victim about the source of the large sum, to which he explained it was his brother's money from the travel business. On the way, they stopped the car, told him to walk to the Santacruz police station because they were in a hurry to round up two more suspects, and then drove off
with the cash," the police officer said.

A police officer said, "The men drove off with the cash, and the victim reported the incident to the Khar police. We have registered an FIR against the three unidentified men who posed as crime branch officers and robbed him. We are using CCTV footage to identify and trace the suspects."

Three
No. of men who impersonated cops