Four posing as cops to con elderly detained in Porbandar

Rajkot: Four members of a multi-state gang who duped people, especially elderly persons, of their jewellery by posing as cops were detained in Porbandar on Thursday.
Police said the accused, Sultan Irani alias Gabbar Ali (42), Mohemmed Irani (20), Raza Ali Irani (22), all three from Madhya Pradesh (MP), and Isha Ali Qadar (30) from Jalgaon in Maharashtra, were involved in at least nine cases of cheating.
“We arrested the accused, following a tip-off about them coming to Porbandar. Acting on the information, we kept a watch on Porbandar-Jamnagar Highway. Soon an SUV with the registration number of Maharashtra was spotted. The SUV sped away when we tried to stop it. We chased the SUV to a distance and nabbed the accused,” said M N Dave, an inspector with Porbandar local crime branch (LCB).
The police recovered four gold bangles worth Rs 2.40 lakh, Rs 22,000 cash, imitation jewellery, two cellphones and two cards with the inscription of ‘Delhi Crime Bharat Sanchar Virodhi Morcha’, a fake press ID card, and one card with the inscription of ‘Police Mitra’ from the accused.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to committing nine offences in Porbandar, Rajkot, Gondal, Bhachau, Bhuj, Dabhoi, Manasa, Himmatnagar and Bodeli, said Dave.
The accused also confessed to having committed crimes in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, he added.
“The modus operandi of the accused was to target elderly persons, especially women. They would pose as cops and ask the victims to remove their jewellery and put them in the purse given by them, telling them that there was a loot or murder reported ahead and that the police checking was on. When the victim removed their jewellery, they would hoodwink the victims and steal the jewellery,” said N M Gadhvi, sub-inspector with Porbandar LCB.
Sultan Irani is the leader of the gang who attacked a police team that had gone in search of him in Sendhwa village of MP on March 13, 2018.
“After the cases were reported in Porbandar, Rajkot and Gondal, we obtained the CCTV footage of the cases and found that the same accused had been involved in the crime,” added Dave.
The accused have been detained at present. They will be formally arrested once they undergo the mandatory Covid-19 test.