The crime branch of Mumbai police has arrested a 40-year-old TV actor for allegedly cheating people by posing as a police officer, primarily in Uttarakhand and Chandigarh, an official said on Tuesday. Interestingly, the accused used to travel by air to Dehradun, Chandigarh and other cities in north India to commit the crime. He then used to fly back to Mumbai, the official said.
The accused had acted in television serials like ''Chittorgarh ki Rajkumari Padmini'', ''Chhattrapati Raja Shivaji'', ''Savdhan India'' and in movies like ''Gulamkai and Bahanchor'', the official said.
He said unit-8 of the Mumbai crime branch had received a specific information from the Dehradun Police about the alleged involvement of the accused in cheating an old woman and stealing her gold ornaments worth Rs 5 lakh.
A case was registered at Patel Nagar police station in Dehradun under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for cheating, the official said.
He said the Dehradun police tracked down the accused to Oshiwara in Mumbai with technical assistance.
After being informed by Dehradun Police, the Mumbai crime branch nabbed the accused on Monday evening from his residence in Oshiwara.
During questioning, the accused initially refuted the charges and told the police that he was working in the TV industry and has a good reputation. He later admitted to his involvement in cheating cases, following which he was arrested, the official said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused committed three offences in Nagpur and two in Uttarakhand, he said.
The accused has been handed over to Dehradun Police on a transit remand, he said.
