3 held for posing as cops, robbing commuters across Delhi-NCR

Three men were arrested from Shikohpur on Sunday night for impersonating police officers and robbing lone commuters at night across Gurugram, Delhi, Noida, and parts of Uttar Pradesh, said police on Tuesday. The suspects—Ramesh Kumar, Gangaram alias Sunny, and K Selvaraj, all residents of Trilokpuri, Delhi—used fake police communication recordings to deceive victims, they added. 

According to police, the men allegedly offered lifts to commuters, then robbed them at knifepoint, seizing cash, phones, and documents. They were apprehended on Sunday night after robbing a man in Manesar. A Ford EcoSport, knife, cash, and stolen documents were recovered, police said. 

Investigators added that the trio targeted a commuter along the Jaipur-Delhi Expressway in Manesar on October 12. Posing as police officers, they offered him a lift, then threatened him with a knife, robbing him before throwing him out of the vehicle, police said. The victim filed a complaint hours later, leading to the suspects’ arrest. 

A senior crime branch officer revealed that the suspects had committed at least 50 to 60 similar crimes in Gurugram, Delhi, and other NCR cities. “The trio, after giving a lift to the commuters, used to play the recording on one of their phones, in which the speaker could be heard directing them to frisk suspects and their luggage,” he said. 

To maintain the ruse, the suspects played two wireless communication recordings, downloaded from the internet, the officer added. One recording gave the impression that the victim was being frisked under real-time police orders, while the second falsely indicated that the suspects they were searching for had been apprehended elsewhere, police said. 

 “Following the ruse, the trio would threaten the victims and throw them out of the vehicle while keeping their valuables. Most of the time, the victims avoided approaching police about the incident in such a scenario,” the senior officer added. 

Sandeep Kumar, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said that the trio had downloaded the police communication recordings from the internet. “They were active for the last several months. Based on the information provided by suspects during interrogation, we are contacting police in Delhi, Noida, and other places to share information about the crimes committed in their respective jurisdictions,” he said. 

“Besides, we are also gathering information on how many cases are registered against them at various locations,” Kumar added. 

Based on the complaint of the victim from Manesar, an FIR was registered against the suspects under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Arms Act at Manesar police station on Saturday.