Man poses as Crime Branch officer; arrested

A man posed as an officer of the Mumbai police's Crime Branch and inspected a mall here in Maharashtra on pretext of checking sale of narcotics, police said on Thursday.

The accused, Kalpesh Vasant Patil (29), a resident of Varatak Nagar in Thane district, has been arrested, they said.

A case was registered against Patil at the Kapurbawdi police station on Wednesday and he has been booked under IPC section 170 (impersonating a public servant), police said.

According to the police, the accused, posing as an officer of Crime Branch of the Mumbai police, went inside the mall and met its manager, saying he has information that narcotics are being sold in the complex.

The man inspected some areas of the mall and said he will forward a report to his superiors, the police said.

He then asked the manager to pay him Rs 11,500, saying his son is unwell, they said.

Patil's behaviour aroused suspicion following which the manager called the local police, who confirmed the man was a fake officer and arrested him.