Conmen Impersonating Police Officers in Salcete: Nearly Rs 9.5 Lakh Swindled, Investigation Ongoing

Despite two weeks of investigation, police in Salcete are yet to apprehend conmen who have swindled victims of approximately Rs 9.5 lakh by impersonating police officers. In the first incident, Filomena D'Costa Furtado was defrauded of Rs 4.5 lakh by a man claiming to be a Delhi police officer, while in the second incident, a fish delivery driver was robbed of Rs 5 lakh on the national highway at Sirlim.

Key Takeaways:

• Two separate cases of conmen impersonating police officers have been reported in Salcete, resulting in the swindling of victims amounting to approximately Rs 9.5 lakh.
• In the first incident, Filomena D'Costa Furtado was defrauded of Rs 4.5 lakh by a man claiming to be Delhi police officer Dipesh Joshi.
• The scammer contacted Furtado and her husband via video call in April, claiming a money laundering case was registered against her and manipulated her into transferring Rs 4.5 lakh to a bank account belonging to Sidhesh Ajay.
• In a separate incident, two persons posing as police officers robbed a fish delivery driver of Rs 5 lakh on the national highway at Sirlim on May 8.
• The fake officers accused the driver of driving under the influence of alcohol and stole approximately Rs 5 lakh that was kept under the passenger-side seat.
• Police are reviewing CCTV footage from the highway and surrounding areas and have some leads they are pursuing diligently.

Statistics:

• Total amount swindled: approximately Rs 9.5 lakh
• Amount defrauded in first incident: Rs 4.5 lakh
• Amount stolen in second incident: Rs 5 lakh
• Number of victims: at least 2
• Number of suspects: at least 2
• Investigation duration: nearly two weeks

Sources:

• "Margao: Police struggle to crack cases of conmen posing as police officers," [no publication date provided], Times of India.
• "Conmen posing as police officers swindle two people in Salcete," [no publication date provided], Times of India.