Mumbai: ‘Remove your jewellery, snatchers on the prowl’

A 75-year-old woman was targeted in this fashion last week. Representation pic

Beware if you are suddenly accosted by men identifying themselves as cops and asking you to take off your valuables as there has been a rise in chain-snatching incidents. For, the men themselves could be criminals who might run away with your ornaments. Data shared by the Mumbai police suggest there is a steady rise in impersonation cases in the city.

A 75-year-old Khar woman was targeted last week by imposters who fled with her jewellery worth Rs 2.1 lakh. Sadhana Pawar was on her way home when two men on a bike approached her on 19th Road. One of them asked her about some Meena Sewing. He quickly pointed to Sadhana's jewellery and said she shouldn't be wearing them as there had been an increase in chain-snatching cases. The duo claimed to be policemen.

They later asked Sadhana to keep the jewellery safe. "Just when my wife was keeping the jewellery in her bag, they snatched it and escaped on their bike," said her husband Narayan Pawar. Before Sadhana could react, they were long gone. Narayan said the men fled with his wife's mangalsutra worth R1.5 lakh and a gold chain worth Rs 60,000. The Khar police are probing the case.

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Police officers said such impersonators can either be on bikes or stand in a corner of a road where they hide behind a vehicle or some obstacle to keep them off CCTV cameras. They mostly target lone senior citizens or morning walkers. "At times, they claim a murder has taken place ahead and the person should remove his or her jewellery. On the pretext of keeping the jewellery safe, they offer to wrap it with a piece of paper. While they hand over the packet to the person, by the time the victim realises that the packet has stones or something else, the accused are long gone," said an officer.

As per the figures available with mid-day, 139 cases of police impersonation were reported in 2020. The figure touched 162 the next year. In the first 10 months of this year, 166 such cases have already been registered. This year, Zone 7, which covers eastern suburbs from Ghatkopar to Mulund, reported the most cases - 34 - till September, followed by Zone 9 with 28 cases. This covers high-profile areas of Bandra West, Khar, Juhu, Versova and Oshiwara. The port zone saw the fewest cases in 2022, with just one case.

Cases of criminals impersonating cops
Cases Year
£ 139 2020
£ 162 2021
£ 168 2022'
'till September