Panaji When Ravikumar Prajapati, 48, from Karnataka was suddenly accosted by three authoritative sounding "plain clothed" policemen in March this year and asked to accompany them to the nearest police station for carrying Rs3 million (Dh207,393) in cash, he did not question their genuineness.
Returning home after conducting a business transaction in Goa, Prajapati thought he would be let off after establishing the source of the money. But he ended up being thrown out of the "police" car, with his money robbed.
Police now believe Prajapati is just one of the dozens of victims of a "fake police" gang, which comprises conmen from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.
"They target women who wear gold ornaments and tourists. Invariably they pose as policemen showing fake identity cards and rob their victims," Deputy Inspector General of Police Ravinder Yadav told IANS.
In November last year local resident, Ratnabai Polyekar, from Sangolda was cheated by a smoothly executed old-school "sleight of the hand" trick.
"I was standing outside my house in the morning when two young people came to me and said there were robbers about and I should not be wearing gold on me. They gave me a piece of paper in which I was told to keep the gold," Ratnabai said in her police statement.
When she unwrapped the same piece of paper on reaching home, she found a few pebbles and glass bangles instead of her gold chain and gold bangles.
No arrests so far
Yadav said the gang, none of whose members has been caught yet, operates in Goa as well as neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka, where cases with a similar modus operandi have been reported.
While nearly a dozen cases have been reported to police in Goa over the last two years, officials fear there may be several instances where victims may have not come forward to register the offence.
