Hyderabad police have captured two men who tricked an elderly woman by swapping her real money with fake children’s play money. The incident happened with the help of detectives from the Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force, South West Zone, and Mangalhat police. Officers recovered Rs 20,000 in cash and an auto-rickshaw from the suspects.
The arrested individuals are Syed Waseemuddin and Mohd Azam Ali Imran, both 34 years old, and auto-rickshaw drivers. Waseemuddin is from Bada Bazar, Yakutpura, originally from Amravati, Maharashtra, while Azam resides at Parda Gate, Vatepally.
Police reports indicate that both men were heavily into drinking and smoking, leading them to spend beyond their means. Their driving jobs did not pay enough for their lavish habits. According to Ande Srinivasa Rao, Additional Deputy Commissioner of the Task Force, they decided to earn quick money by cheating elderly women. They purchased Rs 500 play money from a shop in Charminar to carry out their plan.
The men would look for older women walking alone, offering them free rides. Once a woman accepted, one suspect would keep her distracted while the other swapped her real cash with fake Rs 500 notes.
In another case, they targeted a woman who had just taken out cash from an SBI bank. They convinced her to take a free ride and offered to add more money to her bag. When she hesitated, they forcibly took her bag under the pretense of adding cash. One suspect pretended to increase her money while the other switched it with fake notes.
The police, acting on information received, arrested the pair and confiscated Rs 20,000 and their auto-rickshaw.
