Woman held for posing as cop to extort money

A 33-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly posing as a police personnel and extorting money from another woman here in Maharashtra, a police official said Tuesday.

The accused, Aparna Manohar Mohare, posed as a policewoman and contacted the 20-year-old victim in Mumbra here last Wednesday, claiming that an offence of kidnapping and theft was registered against the latter at the Kalyan police station.

Mohare allegedly demanded Rs 7 lakh from the victim to save her from arrest in the case, Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said.

The accused finally settled the deal at Rs 1 lakh and took Rs 10,000 initially from a relative of the victim, Narkar said.

The victim filed a complaint following which police Monday arrested Mohare from Shiravane village in Navi Mumbai, she said.

A search was on for the woman's associate who used to accompany her, Narkar said.

The accused was booked under various IPC sections, including 389 (putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion), 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent) and 506 (criminal intimidation), she added.