Fake policeman targets couples, extorts lakhs by clicking pictures of PDA

Vasai-Virar: The police on Tuesday arrested a 40-year-old former Vasai-Virar civic body employee who allegedly extorted lakhs of rupees by posing as a police official. His modus-operandi was to target couples who sat in isolated areas and threaten them after clicking their pictures that they were creating nuisance in public.
The accused, identified as Rahul More, worked as a clerk at the VVMC headquarters and was fired four years ago due to misconduct. According to the Manikpur police in Vasai West, on Sunday, a 48-year-old man and his wife reached the police station saying that a sub-inspector named Jagtap from Manikpur police station took more than ₹3 lakh from them and that he was demanding more money.
The police officers informed the couple that there was no such officer named Jagtap working there and that they were being cheated. Upon asking the couple what happened, the husband, who works in a private firm, told the officers that a week ago he was sitting on the vacant skywalk near Vasai railway station with his girlfriend when the fake officer approached him and clicked their photo without their knowledge. The accused then told them that he was a police sub-inspector and would have to arrest them on the charge of creating a nuisance in a public place.
The man begged him to let them go and offered him money to keep the matter out of the police station, as his wife would learn about his extra marital affair.
The accused then threatened to forward the photos to his wife and asked for ₹50,000 to keep his mouth shut. The victim gave him the money and left. However, the extortion did not stop. The following week, More extorted ₹3 lakh from the victim.
On Sunday he called up the victim to demand more money, however, his wife answered the call. He told her his name was PSI Jagtap and needed to speak to her husband. After disconnecting the phone, the woman asked her husband what was the matter and why a police officer was looking for him. The man then revealed to her that he was being blackmailed as he was caught with another woman in an isolated place.
The woman called up the number to talk to the PSI when the caller ID flashed Jagtap’s name as Rahul More. The woman then suspected foul play and went to the police station. The police then registered an FIR against More under section 308 (extortion), 351 (cheating by impersonation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The Manikpur police identified More from the phone number that he used to call and blackmail the victim. After arresting More, the police found that like the victim, he had threatened and extorted money from several couples on the beach, gardens and other public places by clicking their photos and threatening them to pocket any amount that the couples were ready to give.
“We have arrested More and have found that he has been impersonating police officers and extorting money since he was fired four years ago. We urge the couples to come forward and register complaints about those who were threatened by More. The identities of the couples would be kept confidential,” said a police officer from Manikpur police station.