Fake cops, sob stories, and swapped gold Delhi gang dupes elderly women

A cunning gang from Delhi has become active in Mumbai and neighbouring areas targeting senior citizens mdash particularly elderly women mdash using deceptive tactics strikingly similar to the infamous ldquoIranirdquo gang With emotional manipulation impersonation and confidence tricks they have executed a series of thefts raising serious concerns for local law enforcementThe Irani gang is already notorious across India for chainsnatching and psychological cons This new Delhibased gang mirrors that playbook almost exactly making it even harder for citizens to recognise the dangerTricks of Irani gangPolice sources say the gang uses two main methodsgtgt Fake cops con They pose as police officers warn elderly women about nearby crimes and convince them to remove their jewellery ldquofor safetyrdquo Once trust is gained they vanish with the valuablesFrom left Kishore Solanki arrested by Kasturba Marg police Ravi Pehlad Rathod arrested in 2023 Vijay Solanki Chauthi Solanki accused in multiple cases involving senior citizensgtgt Bank buddy scam Targeting the elderly and illiterate near banks they offer to help fill out forms or count cash only to quietly steal part of the money in the processFrom hawkers to hustlersMembers of Delhi gang hail from Raghubir Nagar a slum in Delhi where their community settled after migrating from Gujarat While they pose as hawkers selling plastic goods like chairs and utensils their real trade is fraudModus operandi of Delhi ganggtgt Jewellery swap ruse A gang member approaches a woman pretending to be hungry Others join in warn her of thieves and remove their own jewellery theatrically The woman is persuaded to wrap her ornaments for safety only to have them swapped with fakes filled with sand or stonesgtgt Fake money trap Another method involves a member claiming to be an abused employee carrying a bag of cash Other gang members act as bystanders encouraging the victim to ldquoshow trustrdquo by handing over jewellery in exchange Once they flee the bag is revealed to contain only paperCase in Borivli EastOn March 31 a 55yearold housewife from Carter Road No 7 Borivli East stepped out around 525 pm Near Faruqiya Masjid two women and a man approached her The trio engaged her in conversation and led her to the BEST depot near Borivli station There they convinced her to remove her mangalsutra and put it in her purse for safety Later they repeated the trick near Chandavarkar Road making off with two gold bangles as wellThe man pretended to return the jewellery and instructed her not to look back on her way home to avoid ldquoattracting thievesrdquo At home she discovered that her jewellery worth around Rs 1 lakh was missingPolice breakthroughKasturba Marg police registered an FIR Under DCP Mahesh Chimate and Sr Inspector Jairaj Ranaware API Subhash Jadhav and PSI Dheeraj Waykos led the team with constables Pedhnekar Salvi Ahire Fopse and SakpalTheir investigation using CCTV footage and call records led to the arrest of Kishore Dayaram Solanki alias Sanjay Dabhi 30 from Raghubir Nagar New Delhi His accomplices fled after learning of the raid and a manhunt is underwayRepeat offendersAn officer from Kasturba Marg police said ldquoThe gang builds trust through emotional manipulation Elderly women are their prime targetsrdquoIn 2023 Manikpur Kashimira Navghar and Bandra East saw similar crimes That year Manikpur police arrested three gang members from VirarRavi Pehlad Rathod 28 Chauthi Narayan Solanki alias Shanti 38 Vijay Vinod Solanki 20 All were from Raghubir Nagar and confessed to multiple crimes across MumbaiThe recently arrested accused also belongs to the same area and communityPolice believe more suspects remain at large and warn residents especially the elderly to remain cautious of strangers offering help or advice