Hyderabad: Imposter lands in jail for conning cop job aspirants

Hyderabad : The Hyderabad Commissioner’s Task Force, East Zone Team, along with Masab Tank police on Sunday apprehended a pseudo police officer who was cheating the public by pretending to offer jobs in the police department. The police seized a sub-inspector’s uniform, a mobile phone, and a two-wheeler from his possession.

The accused was Kadavath Somla Naik (44), a car driver and a resident of Uday Nagar Colony, Road No 11 in Banjara Hills. According to the police, the accused had previously been chosen as a Soldier GD in the Army and attended training at the Artillery Centre. However, after six months of training, he absconded. Subsequently, in 2004, he participated in the Assam Rifles recruitment and was selected as a Soldier GD. While in training, he developed hydrocele disease, which prevented him from continuing and ultimately led to his departure from the programme. The police said he also attended police recruitments in undivided AP State but he did not clear the exam. Then he started earning a livelihood by working as a car driver in Hyderabad.

Driven by a strong passion for uniformed services, he began wearing a police uniform and impersonating a police officer since 2012. As he kept showing up at events in police attire, pretending to be a sub-inspector or a constable, people in his village eventually started believing he was actually a cop. Later, he began deceiving job seekers. He dishonestly collected Rs 2 lakh from Gowri Shanker of Banjara Hills and deliberately cheated him. In total, he has collected Rs 11 lakh from various victims through similar deceitful means. The accused, along with the seized property, was handed over to Masab Tank police for investigation.