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A college student has alleged that a fake cop jumped into her auto and tried to extort Rs50,000 from her for smoking e-cigarette, aptly known as vaping. The video of the incident, recorded by the woman and posted by another user who claims to be her brother, has gone viral on social media.
In the footage, the woman can be heard saying, “I am currently on Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation Road in the Andheri area. This man followed me and got into my auto. He’s forcibly trying to take me to Powai police station.” When the con insisted on escorting her to the police station, she firmly replied, “You cannot take me anywhere without a woman police officer.” As the woman continued recording the shocking incident, the ‘cop’ abruptly ordered the auto driver to stop and quickly exited the vehicle.
The video was initially posted on Reddit and later shared on X. The user, who posted the clip, claimed that the fraud bumped into the victim, her sister, while she on her way home from college. “He claimed to be a cop and demanded Rs50,000 for the offense of having a vape. He sat next to her, began vaping and tried to intimidate her with threats,” said the user. The ‘cop’ even warned that if she didn’t comply, she would be taken to the Powai police station and directed the auto driver to proceed there, the user added.
The panicked woman reportedly called her brother. “She was understandably shaken and called me in a panic. I told her it was just a scare tactic to extort money. I then advised her to take out her phone and start recording the interaction. As soon as she did that, his demeanor changed completely,” the sibling said.
Despite several netizens virtually appealing to the Mumbai police to take action, they are yet to issue a formal response regarding the action to be taken against the alleged impersonator or clarify whether he is an actual cop extorting money.
In 2019, the government implemented a complete ban on vapes and e-cigarettes, encompassing their production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement. Violation is considered a cognisable offense, with punishment of one year in jail or Rs1 lakh fine or both.