Beware, crooks pose as cops to rob senior citizens: Police

Margao: South Goa SP Tikam Singh Verma on Thursday strongly cautioned citizens to remain vigilant following a surge in cases where fraudsters impersonate police officers to dupe senior citizens of their gold ornaments.The alert came after two separate incidents were reported on Wednesday at Vasco and Fatorda police stations, both involving senior citizens above the age of 70 who were targeted by fake police officers. The accused specifically targeted elderly persons walking alone on roads, wearing gold ornaments. The fraudsters approached their victims, claiming to be police officers and warning that wearing gold in public was unsafe due to recent snatching incidents in the area.Trusting the impersonator, victims handed over their valuables, which were then wrapped in paper by the accused, who claimed the ornaments were safely secured inside before fleeing the scene. Addressing reporters on Thursday, the South Goa SP said that the police formed teams to nab the accused based on the leads obtained.“There have been similar incidents in the recent past, and we nabbed a couple of suspects; their custodial interrogation is going on,” he said.

Verma said that no genuine police officer would ask citizens to hand over their valuables under any circumstances. “People should bear in mind that no policeman would stop you and ask you to hand over your valuables to them, though they may sometimes advise you (if they notice anything wrong),” he said.He advised citizens encountering such situations to immediately dial 100 or 112. “Let the police arrive at the spot and handle the situation,” the SP said. As part of ongoing efforts of the police to protect elderly people, the SP revealed that every police station maintains a list of senior citizens living alone within their jurisdiction. “Police visit their homes once or twice a month and enquire about their welfare,” he said.