Three men allegedly stole $2,400 from an Iraqi national near a traffic signal in Sector 31 on Saturday evening.
The police said the suspects posed as policemen and stopped the victim and his family
members on the pretext of an ‘inspection’.
The police said the incident took place around 11pm when the victim and his two siblings were returning to their hotel in Sector 39 from a private hospital.
In the police complaint, the victim stated, “We had taken an auto-rickshaw from the emergency gate of the hospital. When we reached a traffic signal near Sector 31, three men in a white Honda city car signalled us to stop. They said they were policemen and wanted to check our IDs. After checking the IDs, they sifted through my sister’s handbag and quickly left.”
The police said when the victims checked the handbag, they found $2,400 in cash missing.
A police officer privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said that the suspects were yet to be identified.
A case was registered against the suspects under sections 379 (theft) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code at the Sector 40 police station, the police said.
The police officers investigating similar cases reported in the city said that the suspects were part of a gang that targeted foreign nationals who come to the city for medical treatment.
“The gang comprises two to four members, who conduct a reconnaissance of major hospitals and guest houses in
the vicinity of the hospitals. The con men tell foreign nationals that the police are conducting raids in plainclothes and are detaining people staying here illegally or trafficking narcotics,” a police officer privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said.
In cases reported earlier, the gang targeted people in sectors 38 and 39 near Medanta Hospital and sectors 51 and 52 near Artemis Hospital. The gang has been using fake number plates on their vehicles to avoid being traced.
In at least two cases reported last year in December, the gang used a white Honda City car, including one in which $4,000 were stolen from an Iraqi national.
