Date:13/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/13/stories/2008101350840300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Donning fake uniform and conning the gullible

Petlee Peter

Some shops sell uniforms, badges and also blank identification cards

Chennai: On Monday, the Elephant Gates police arrested Jaffer Ali (26) of Thane on charges of tricking and robbing a 75-year-old Rajasthani woman on September 5. Two of his accomplices are still at large.

On August 10, a 11-member gang robbed Rs. 3.7 crore from the employees of a Tiruchi-based jewellery showroom on the National Highway at Veppur near Tiruchi when the cash was being transported to Chennai in a van. The police arrested five of them last month in connection with the robbery.

A woman tricked an executive near Tambaram and tried to slip away with jewellery and cash a few months ago. What’s common among all the three cases is that the culprits posed as police personnel. These are just a few instances of how criminals are increasingly resorting to donning khaki to make some quick money.

The impersonators have gone a step ahead than just sporting khaki trousers, boots, puffy moustaches and police haircuts. They have progressed to fake identity cards and vehicles with ‘G’ on their vehicle registration plates. Some shops in Periamet and adjoining areas not just deal in police uniforms and badges, right from those of A-grade constables to IPS officers, but also sell blank identification cards, which the conmen purchase and expertly forge the signatures and seal. Old government vehicles with ‘G’ registration on the number plates are usually disposed off in bulk through tenders. The conmen approach those who purchase these vehicles and pick up one, as the unchanged registration plate facilitates their khaki impersonation. Police sources reveal that some impersonators also indulge in vehicle checks and inspections in the suburban areas and extort money in the process. When asked about the rapid increase in fake policemen in the city, City Police Commissioner R. Sekar said that people should not blindly believe someone who claims to be a policeman.

“If such a situation arises, the person who feels victimised has every right to ask the so-called policeman to prove his credentials and identity. If someone claims to be attached to a particular police station, one can also go with him to the station to verify from the seniors if the concerned is a policeman,” the Commissioner said.

Mr. Sekar also said that besides ‘100,’ there are also police control room numbers for every zone which the public could contact to inquire if the person who has approached them is a genuine policeman or not.