Eight people, including a retired police officer and a serving constable, have been arrested for allegedly impersonating crime branch agents and robbing a café owner of Rs 25 lakh, city police said on Thursday. The complainant, who manages a renowned cafe in the Matunga neighbourhood, informed police that six people came to his residence near the Sion hospital a few days ago, claiming to be from the Mumbai police`s crime branch.

They informed him that he had stashed illicit money at home to use in the ongoing elections. The hotelier told them that he had only Rs 25 lakh in cash that had nothing to do with the elections, but the accused snatched the cash and fled after threatening to implicate him in a false case, the complaint said.