Two pose as CBI officers, arrested

Mumbai: The MHB Colony police arrested two persons who posed as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers and threatened to kill a woman, who owned cooperative society, in an encounter. The accused claimed that they would book her in a case over irregularities in her cooperative society if she did not pay them Rs 1 crore. They demanded money on the pretext that they would not investigate the matter if she pays the bribe. The police laid a trap and apprehended them when they came to take custody of her Innova car forcefully.  

The arrested accused have been identified as Ashwin Sharma, a resident of Haryana and Sajid Warekar, resident of Thane district. The police said that the duo approached the woman and introduced themselves as CBI officers who knew about irregularities in her cooperative society.

“They threatened her of consequences including a criminal case and encounter if she did not pay them Rs 1 crore. They summoned the woman and her husband to a resort in Borivali and issued the threats,” said an officer of MHB Colony police station.

The couple was scared and hence they arranged cash of Rs 50 lakh and gave it to the accused. The investigators said that they took advantage after receiving the money and continued to pressurise them. The accused demanded them to part away with their
Innova car too.

“After taking away their one SUV, they started demanding for the custody of their second SUV. They got suspicious and approached the police,” added the officer.

The couple informed senior police officers about the two supposed CBI officers and narrated their ordeal. The officers asked the couple to summon the accused for giving them their car. The MHB Colony police laid a trap at their residence and nabbed them when they arrived there on Monday.

The police have booked them for extortion, extortion by putting a person in fear of death, impersonating and acts of common intention of the IPC.