FIR against four unknown persons lodged at Colaba police station, none arrested so far; family was accused by impersonators of carrying hash in bag
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Impostors who claimed to be “police officers” looted around Rs 2 lakh from an Omani family that had arrived in Mumbai for medical treatment, late on Friday night. A case of extortion and impersonation was filed against four unknown persons, who had duped the family claiming they were carrying hash in their bag.
No arrests have been made so far in the case, which took place when the Omani family had stepped out of their Colaba hotel for a stroll after dinner. According to the police, Mohammad Abdulla, 41, a firefighter from Oman had come to India on August 10 with his wife and elderly parents for medical treatment.
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Abdulla’s parents reportedly are ailing with comorbid conditions, including diabetes and blood pressure. They were in the hotel room when the incident occurred. Around 10.30 pm, Abdulla, his wife, brother and nephew went out of the hotel to buy medicines. Half-an-hour later, they were obstructed by a white coloured hatchback car, which had four occupants including a woman. As per their complaint to the police, one of the occupants of the car asked them in Hindi as to which language the family was comfortable in. When they answered that it was Arabic, another occupant started talking to them in Arabic. He then claimed to be policemen and accused the family of carrying hash in the bag. The family was asked to hand over their belongings for checking.
Shocked, the wife allowed the “police” to check her bag. The man pulled it in the car and drove away towards Colaba market. Abdulla did catch hold of one of the car occupant’s shirt briefly in an attempt to stop them. However they were able to flee. Meanwhile, his nephew managed to click a photograph of the car with its number plate. The car’s registration details with the Regional Transport Office (RTO) reflect that it’s registered in the name of a private company, said the Colabo police.
“An FIR under IPC Section 384 for extortion, IPC 170 for impersonation and IPC 34 for criminal acts done for furtherance of common intention was lodged against four unknown persons. Further probe is going on,” said Vijay Hatiskar, senior inspector of Colaba police station.
The police informed that the accused fled with 13 notes of Omani rial amounting to Rs 1.34 lakh and 1,000 AED equivalent to Rs 22,200. The handbag also contained the family’s national identity cards, driving license, ATM cards and medical documents. Most cards thrown out on the road by the accused while fleeing the spot were later recovered, the police informed.
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No of persons accused in FIR
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