Cuttack: Police are probing an alleged fake cop racket operating on the outskirts of the city, which is bilking commercial drivers out of huge sums of money on the National Highways (NH).
It is alleged that the gang operatives dressed as police officers, with bamboo sticks and torch lights in their hands, waylay heavy transport vehicles late at night on the NH from Jagatpur to Tangi. The swindlers then extort money from the drivers and flee the scene.
Sources said police started a probe after a police control room (PCR) van spotted some persons on the Birupa Bridge late Monday while they were trying to extort money from a truck driver. But before the police could reach the spot, the imposters sped away on an SUV.
Tangi inspector in-charge (IIC) Bimal Barik said, “The gang was spotted operating on the NH here a day ago but they fled the scene. Police personnel have been deployed in some sensitive areas to track the racket.”
According to police, the gang has its dens in Bihar and Jharkhand, and mostly targets drivers from outside the state. Police also suspects that the gang has been operating in the Silver city for the past three months.
Sources added that earlier such incidents had been reported from Link Road, Shelter Chowk and Bajrakbati areas here. Around six such cases of loot have been reported in the past three months in the city, it is learnt.
An elderly woman who was allegedly looted of her gold ornaments at Choudhury Bazaar a week ago by a man claiming to be a cop is a case in point. At first the conman scared the victim about chain snatchers sprawling in the area, then asked her to take off her jewellery and hand it over to him, assuring her that he would secure the valuables for her. Later, he made away with the ornaments.
Sources said the gang has started its business in areas under Nayapalli and Bargada police station limits in Bhubaneswar as two such cases of loot have been registered in their jurisdiction recently.
When asked about the issue, Jagatpur IIC Biranchi Narayan Pati replied, “Though we have heard about such cases, but no complaints have been registered with us so far. However, we are keeping a strict vigil on such activities on the NH and very soon the culprits will be nabbed”, he added.
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