Baddi: A gang posing as police officers to extort and rob truck drivers in the Baddi industrial area of Himachal Pradesh has been busted by the local police.
Superintendent of Police Vinod Dhawan revealed in a press briefing that four incidents of robbery took place in Thana village and Jharmajri areas on April 6, 8 and 12.
Donning police uniforms, the accused targeted truckers, mostly from Rajasthan, by accusing them of illegal parking, then physically assaulting them and stealing cash and mobile phones. The gang even used stolen devices to transfer money online before fleeing the scenes.
Modus operandi: Fear, force & fake uniforms
The robbers, wearing khaki uniforms, approached parked trucks late at night, pretending to be police officials.
They would drag the drivers out under the pretense of checking parking violations. On April 8, a driver was assaulted and robbed of ₹10,000 and his phone, from which ₹30,500 was later siphoned off via digital transactions at a petrol pump in Chandigarh.
In another case on April 12, a driver was forced to withdraw ₹40,000 from an ATM. Two additional robberies involved amounts of ₹5,000 and ₹11,000 respectively.
Operated in vehicle fitted with fake number plates
The gang operated a vehicle registered in Haryana but had fitted it with fake Himachal Pradesh number plates to evade detection.
Following intensive investigation involving CCTV footage analysis, cyber cell tracking and plainclothes surveillance, the police arrested 29-year-old Fateh Singh from Rani Majra village in Mohali in Punjab.
Fateh allegedly used YouTube videos of police wireless chatter to convince victims he was a legitimate officer. One suspect remains at large and police raids were ongoing to locate him.
Police urge public to remain cautious
SP Vinod Dhawan advised citizens to remain vigilant and avoid trusting strangers claiming to be officials without verification. He also encouraged people to report suspicious activity promptly and keep an eye on parking and online banking activity.
He said increased awareness and quick reporting could help curb such organised criminal activities
Sunil Chadha
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