'Cops' rob Khar sr citizen of Rs 70K jewellery

MUMBAI: A gang, posing as policemen, robbed a senior citizen of her jewellery worth Rs 70,000 earlier this week.
Sapna Bhateja (64), a retired employee of Hinduja Hospital, was returning from her yoga class when the incident took place near Khar Gymkhana on Tuesday morning.
"A man came up to me and said a police inspector standing nearby wanted to speak to me.The `inspector' showed me a police identity-card and said they were in the process of apprehending a notorious thief in the vicinity and that I should put all my jewellery in my purse for safekeeping,'' Bhateja told TOI.
Bhateja saw another person being instructed in a similar manner by the "cops'' and without suspecting anything amiss, she took off her gold chain, pendant and a bangle and kept them in her purse. Bhateja claimed that suddenly the `inspector' snatched the purse from her hands, saying he would help her put away the jewellery. He then zipped the purse and returned it to her, Bhateja told the police.
"When I reached home and opened my bag, I found my jewellery missing. Then, I realised that instead of putting the ornaments in my bag, he had slipped it into his own pocket. The other person, who was being told to keep his valuables away, was also an accomplice,'' said Bhateja. She immediately lodged a complaint with the Khar police, who told her that there had been a spate of such incidents in the area.
Zonal DCP Niket Kaushik said quick detection is the only way to check such crimes. "We have detected such cases in the past on the basis of information received through sources. Patrolling does not really help. There are a few things citizens should look out for. First, these conmen are generally dressed in civilian clothes, while a police officer on duty will always be in uniform. Secondly, citizens must be on their alert the moment someone asks them to take off their valuables.''
Bhateja, however, said, "I'm aware that others had been cheated this way. However, the men had surrounded me so closely that I could barely think straight.''