<p>A roadside tea seller posed as a policeman to extort money from tobacco vendors and went to great lengths to look genuine. </p>.<p>His bluff went on for at least two years until a vendor got suspicious and called the real police. </p>.<p>Vignesh, a 23-year-old resident of Magadi Road in southwestern Bengaluru, looked every a bit policeman. He wore the uniform, had a police haircut and spoke as assertively as a cop would. He went around KR Market and Chickpet and accused shopkeepers of selling tobacco products illegally. Threatening to file criminal cases against them, he often extorted Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 from each terrified vendor. </p>.<p>Vignesh's trickery would have gone undetected if not for a suspicious Chickpet shopkeeper named Nagesh. </p>.<p>Vignesh visited his shop recently and accused him of selling tobacco in the open. He said the tobacco was supposed to be kept in a gunny bag so that it isn't visible to the public. He demanded a bribe to cover up the case. </p>.<p>Nagesh didn't believe that he was a real cop and asked for his ID. Vignesh didn't have any. Nagesh didn't stop at that. He called the City Market police station right away and asked if there was a cop named Vignesh. </p>.<p>When a police officer questioned Vignesh over the phone, he said he was posted in the police commissioner's office. The officer suspected that he was a fraud and asked Nagesh to detain him there until a police team arrived. Nagesh took some people's help and didn't let Vignesh escape. Police later arrived and took him to the station. </p>.<p>Vignesh's identity unravelled soon. </p>.<p>A class 10 dropout, he had struck friendships with policemen and home guards, and copied their mannerisms. He often messaged them, praising their work, especially of doing the final rites of unclaimed bodies. </p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>A roadside tea seller posed as a policeman to extort money from tobacco vendors and went to great lengths to look genuine. </p>.<p>His bluff went on for at least two years until a vendor got suspicious and called the real police. </p>.<p>Vignesh, a 23-year-old resident of Magadi Road in southwestern Bengaluru, looked every a bit policeman. He wore the uniform, had a police haircut and spoke as assertively as a cop would. He went around KR Market and Chickpet and accused shopkeepers of selling tobacco products illegally. Threatening to file criminal cases against them, he often extorted Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 from each terrified vendor. </p>.<p>Vignesh's trickery would have gone undetected if not for a suspicious Chickpet shopkeeper named Nagesh. </p>.<p>Vignesh visited his shop recently and accused him of selling tobacco in the open. He said the tobacco was supposed to be kept in a gunny bag so that it isn't visible to the public. He demanded a bribe to cover up the case. </p>.<p>Nagesh didn't believe that he was a real cop and asked for his ID. Vignesh didn't have any. Nagesh didn't stop at that. He called the City Market police station right away and asked if there was a cop named Vignesh. </p>.<p>When a police officer questioned Vignesh over the phone, he said he was posted in the police commissioner's office. The officer suspected that he was a fraud and asked Nagesh to detain him there until a police team arrived. Nagesh took some people's help and didn't let Vignesh escape. Police later arrived and took him to the station. </p>.<p>Vignesh's identity unravelled soon. </p>.<p>A class 10 dropout, he had struck friendships with policemen and home guards, and copied their mannerisms. He often messaged them, praising their work, especially of doing the final rites of unclaimed bodies. </p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
