People beat auto driver who 'fleeced' them by posing as cop

An autorickshaw driver, who is alleged to have extorted money from traffic violators and roadside vendors near the KR Market by posing as a policeman, was arrested early on Sunday after some of his mistrustful victims called his bluff.

Fayyaz, from Yarab Nagar, posed as a policeman and extorted money from people returning home. He would randomly stop vehicles and on the pretext of checking for drink-driving would ask the motorists to produce vehicle documents. He would extort money from those who failed to do so, an officer at the Kalasipalya police station said.

Identification sought

But a few motorists got suspicious and demanded that he produce some identification. Fayyaz got scared and asked them to be off or else he would arrest them. But they refused to relent until he showed some identification.

A verbal spat broke out between the motorists and Fayyaz as he tried to flee the spot. A small crowd pinned him and beat him up before  calling the police, the officer added.

Fayyaz was taken to the police station, and when policemen frisked him, they found just a few hundred-rupee currency notes. He had no police identification. A case has been registered at the Kalasipalya police station.