The robbers, posing as fake cops, usually approach their targets on bikes or cars and ask for identification documents, mostly passports from the unsuspecting tourists.
The city of Gurgaon is grappling with a new criminal menace which is targetting unassuming foreigners outside hotels and high-end hospitals in the city. There is a sudden rise in cases of criminals posing as fake policemen and robbing gullible tourists on the pretext of security checks.
According to a report in the Times of India, in the past three months alone at least four such robberies have taken place in the city alarming the police to constitute a special team to catch the robbers.
"We have deployed teams to nab fake cops," ToI quoted police commissioner K K Rao as saying.
The robbers, posing as fake cops, usually approach their targets on bikes or cars and ask for identification documents, mostly passports from the unsuspecting tourists.
"Then they check their bags and steal dollars or any other foreign currency they find before escaping in their vehicles. The victims realise they have been cheated only after they check their bags," said a police officer, according to the report.
In the latest such case, robbers posing as fake cops approached Shukur Shukuro, a Turkmenistan national and fled away with $7000 from him on Friday. Shukuro was in the city for the treatment of his daughter who is suffering from cancer and is admitted at Medanta hospital in Sector 38. Two men posing as cops, on the pretext of a routine inspection, stole the money from the victim's bag.
A similar incident happened with Hussain Abdul Ameri Ali, an Iraqi national in October who was duped by four such fake cops of $ 1000.
In July, another Iraqi national was robbed of $3000 by two people who posed as cops.
However, incidents, where robbers pose as fake cops to steal money and valuables, are not new to the city. There are past incidents where robbers targeted women in posh areas asking them to place their jewellery in plastic bags for "safety reasons" only to replace them with fakes.
In connection with such robberies, last year, police had arrested an Irani gang that operated in areas of DLF, Sushant Lok and MG Road. Now that some of those involved in the crimes are out on bail, police suspect that the present spurt may be their handiwork as well.