Money heist: Men posing as cops decamp with Rs 18.5L from private employee in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A group of men posing as policemen decamped with Rs 18.5 lakh from a private employee on the pretext of checking in Hyderabad.

The incident on Thursday evening when Akshay, an employee of Chimanlal Suresh Kumar Textiles Pvt. Ltd. in Mehdipatnam, entrusted Pradeep Sharma with ₹20 lakhs to deposit in the Bank of Baroda, Panjagutta branch. However, what followed was a sequence of events that could rival a suspense thriller.

As Pradeep embarked on his journey in a car with his office driver, Shankar, the unexpected unfolded. At approximately 9:15 PM, while cruising down Taj Krishna Road, a patrolling police vehicle, a motorcycle, pulled them over. What seemed like a routine check took an alarming turn when another vehicle, a white Innova, arrived at the scene.

The police officers questioned Pradeep about the substantial sum of money he was carrying and its source. In a shocking twist, they confiscated the bag containing ₹20 lakhs and transferred it into their vehicle. Pradeep was asked to sit in Innova along with them.

A short journey later, near Khairathabad Metro Station, the bag was returned to Pradeep, and he was released. In a bid to resolve the situation, he contacted his office car driver and returned to his owner's residence. Upon examining the bag's contents, it was discovered that only ₹1.5 lakhs remained, while a staggering ₹18.5 lakhs had vanished into thin air.

Panjagutta police upon receiving Pradeep's complaint, launched an investigation into the perplexing case. Police are working tirelessly to ascertain whether the individuals who stopped Pradeep were legitimate police officers or imposters who cleverly executed the audacious heist.