Fake Cop Caught Collecting Money from Ganpati Mandals in Balewadi
Baner Police detained a 25-year-old man in Balewadi for allegedly posing as a police constable and demanding ₹1,000 from Ganpati mandals to arrange meals for personnel on Visarjan duty. Police seized a fake identity card and pamphlets bearing the names of two police commissionerates.
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Pune: Baner Police detained a 25-year-old unemployed man for allegedly impersonating a police officer and collecting money from Ganpati mandals in Balewadi under the pretext of arranging meals for police personnel deployed on Ganesh Visarjan duty.
The accused, identified as Vaibhav Bhong, is a resident of Malshiras in Solapur district. Police detained him from Laxminagar in Balewadi at around 11 am on Wednesday after he allegedly approached Ganpati mandals demanding ₹1,000 from each organiser.
According to police, Bhong was carrying pamphlets bearing the names of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissionerates to make his requests appear official.
Investigators found that Bhong had been preparing for police recruitment examinations. Around ten days before the incident, he had reportedly told his family, who are engaged in farming in Solapur, that he had been selected as a police constable.
His maternal uncle had dropped him off in Baner on Tuesday, following which he allegedly began approaching Ganpati mandals and seeking money.
During a search, police recovered a fake police identity card and a T-shirt resembling those worn by police trainees. The pamphlets and identity card have been seized.
Baner Police have registered a case against Bhong. Further investigation is underway to determine whether anyone else was involved and whether he had approached other Ganpati mandals before being detained.