Hours after robberies in Mangalore, fake police target Udupi couple

Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (UM)

Update: 6 pm

Udupi, Jun 6: In what may be termed as a further proof of a gang of robbers operating in the state, especially in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, yet another woman was hoodwinked into parting with her gold by men posing as police.

The incident occured near Chittaranjan circle here on Thursday June 6, only hours after a similar case was reported in Mangalore.

The lady, identified as Bharati, had come with her husband Nagaraj from Andhra Pradesh to attend a wedding. 

After witnessing the marriage rituals at Sri Krishna Temple, the couple came out and were walking towards Chittaranjan circle when they were stopped by two men in a bike who introduced themselves as policemen. They had even dressed in police clothes, sources said.

As in earlier cases, the men told the couple that robberies had taken place in the area and that they should take care of their gold ornaments. To emphasize the point, another man, an accomplice, came that way, and the men pretended to order him to put his gold chain in his pocket, which he did.

Bharathi, convinced by their story, removed her gold ornaments worth over Rs 1.3 lac, and began to deposit them in her bag, with the help of the men who vanished from the scene immediately.

The couple then walked towards the bus stand and saw a few policemen standing there, to whom they narrated what had just taken place. Only then did they realize that their gold had gone missing and that the men had stolen them.

Bharati lost mangalsutra weighing four sovereigns and a chain of about one-and-a-half sovereigns.

The bike used by the robbers had a Maharashtra registration, and while one of the robbers spoke Kannada, the other conversed in Hindi. It is said that after looting the couple, they proceeded towards the national highway.

The police alerted the control room and launched a search operation for the culprits.

Udupi town police have registered a case.

Mangalore: 'Policemen' on the prowl dupe another person

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jun 6: In another incident which proves that gullible persons continue to get trapped by the tricks of fraudsters claiming to be policemen, in spite of wide coverage given by the media to several such incidents in the region,  a person from the city lost ornaments worth about Rs 90,000 on Thursday June 6.

Umesh P Pai (71), a retired bank employee residing at Boloor Bokkapatna, filed a complaint stating that four motor bike-borne persons, who convinced him to safe-keeping the ornaments worn by him in his pocket, took away 35 grams of gold and diamond ornaments worth Rs 90,000.

Pai said in the complaint that four persons on motor bikes approached him when he was near the Corporation Bank’s ATM on Nehru Avenue Road near Lalbagh in the city. They claimed themselves to be policemen engaged for investigating a case relating to the murder of a baby in the area the previous day.

“We have been asked to check everyone moving through this area, and have just now checked some people on two-wheelers. People are warned against wearing ornaments on the road,” they said.

When Umesh Pai removed the gold chain around his neck and diamond ring in his finger as advised by them and placed them in his shirt pocket, the strangers said that it was safer to keep them in the pocket of his trousers. They removed the ornaments from his pocket, acted like placing them in a plastic sachet and thrusting it into Pai’s pocket, before moving towards M G Road. Pai thereafter found that the pocket of his trousers was empty.

Pai said that the men who claimed themselves to be policemen were conversing in Hindi. A case was registered in this respect at Barke police station.

Earlier Report 

Mangalore: Robbers posing as police strike again - Teacher loses gold

Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (VM)

Mangalore, Jun 6: In yet another case of theft by imposters, a teacher of a school at Car Street was robbed by two person claiming themselves to be policemen.

The teacher, Vanita from Konaje, who is employed at a girls' higher primary school, was on her way to work on Thursday June 6 morning when the incident took place.

At around 9.30 am, as she was walking towards the school, two persons came by bike and introduced themselves as policemen. One of them told Vanita that robberies had increased in the area and hence she should not be wearing gold. He then asked her to remove the jewellery she was wearing and put it safely in her bag.

Believing his story, Vanita removed her two bangles and 'kariyamani' and began to put them in the bag. The men also helped her, and then hurriedly left the scene.

Soon after, when Vanita checked her bag, she realized that her ornaments were missing, and that the men had hoodwinked her.

Altogether, she lost 109 grams of gold ornaments, including two bangles each weighing 25 grams and the kariyamani weighing 84 grams.

Bunder police arrived at the spot and conducted investigations.

It may be recalled that similar cases have been reported in the city, and in places like Bangalore and Kundapur in the past. The modus operandi has been similar in all the cases, with women being the target each time.