Mumbai: Two arrested for impersonation, kidnap and robbery

(Representational Image)

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Saturday arrested two members of a gang who allegedly kidnapped and looted two employees of an LPG gas agency in Santa cruz after impersonating as Crime Branch officers.

According to the police, the incident took place on September 22, when the two employees had gone to Asha Parekh Hospital in Santacruz west to deliver LPG gas cylinders.

The employees told the police that just as they were about to leave in their three-wheeler tempo after making the delivery, a white Toyota Innova car stopped near them and two unidentified men got out of it. The police said the men allegedly introduced themselves as officers of the Mumbai Police Crime Branch and accused them of stealing cylinders.

“The accused forced the employees to sit in their car and assaulted them. They also forcibly took away Rs 1.37 lakh in cash from the two and dropped them off at their tempo, warning them not to approach the police,” said a Crime Branch officer.

However, the employees rushed back to the agency and informed the owner, Bharat Parmer, who lodged a complaint at the Santacruz police station on Friday.

On Saturday, officers from unit 9 of the Crime Branch after receiving tip-off about the accused laid a trap at Khar Danda. “The accused are part of a gang of seven-eight men who have committed similar robberies in different locations in the western suburbs,” the official added.

The arrested duo, identified as Luv Agarwal (25) and Karan Saroj (30), are also accused of stealing from LPG gas agency employees in other parts of the city and collecting monthly hafta from them under the threat of not taking legal action against them, the police said.