Man poses as cop, dupes car dealer of Rs 5.64 lakh

The Naupada police arrested a 29-year-old man on Tuesday night for posing as an assistant police inspector and duping a man of Rs 5.64 lakh at Naupada in Thane (W).

Gajanan Laxman Palve, 29, has been arrested by Naupada Police for impersonating a police officer. Palve was in ‘uniform’ to gain the victim’s confidence.

The victim, Sanjay Tukaram Patil, 43, approached the Naupada police on Wednesday to register a First Information Report (FIR). Patil is a resident of Panchpakhadi.

Posing as a police officer, Palve had purchased two cars from Patil. He purchased an i20 car (MH-04-FZ0236) in April for Rs 2.50 lakh. After a month, he purchased a Maruti Ertiga (MH43-BE-2710) for Rs 3.14 lakh. When Palve failed to pay the Rs 5.64 lakh that he owed Patil, the latter kept calling him repeatedly. However, Palve would not answer his calls. Realising that he had been duped by Palve, Patil approached the police on Monday and registered a First Information Report (FIR).

According to Chandrakant Jadhav, Senior Police Inspector, Naupada Police, “Palve has been arrested on Tuesday night from his resident on Ghodbunder Road.

He was produced before the Thane court and remanded in police custody until July 1. We are investigating if Palve has any other criminal cases registered against him and also investigating if he had procured any fake police identity cards.”