Bengaluru police have arrested four people for allegedly masquerading as police officers and robbing a 25-year-old resident of Vidyaranyapura in the northeastern part of Bengaluru on December 7. The accused have been identified as Mallikarjun.S., alias Malli, 27, Promod V., 30, and Vinay H.T., 36, who posed as police officers, and Hruthvik P., 24, who assisted the trio, police said.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), Mallikarjun, dressed in a police sub-inspector’s uniform, along with Promod and Vinay, who impersonated police officers in plainclothes, barged into the victim’s house in Narasipura Layout, Vidyaranyapura, around 11.30 p.m. on December 7.
Mallikarjun allegedly accused the victim of peddling drugs and told him that his house would be searched. The fake officers searched the house and assaulted the victim with lathis and iron rods before transferring ₹87,000 from his bank account and taking custody of ₹55,000 in cash.
“They accused me of earning the seized money by selling drugs and took it away. They threatened to book a drugs case against me if I reported the incident to anyone,” the victim told the police, adding that he filed a complaint after growing suspicious about the ‘policemen’.
Sajeeth V., Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast), formed a special team to trace the suspects after an FIR was registered at the Vidyaranyapura police station under BNS Section 311, which deals with robbery. The team verified that the men were imposters, reviewed CCTV footage in the vicinity, and followed technical leads, eventually arresting all four accused.
Investigations revealed that the prime suspect, Mallikarjun, was once a police aspirant who failed the competitive examination. Since then, he had been posing as a police officer in his village near Siraguppa in Ballari district.
Mr. Sajeeth said Mallikarjun, who lives in Mathikere, got a police uniform stitched in Kamakshipalya after failing the exam and purchased all the accessories worn by police personnel. He also got a photoshoot done in the uniform and posed as a police officer in his village.
“He met another accused, Hruthvik, in Kamakshipalya, who tipped him off about the victim staying alone in his flat and having money. Mallikarjun then roped in his two friends and hatched a robbery plan,” he said.
The accused told the police that they planned to make quick money, believing they would not be caught if they impersonated police officers. The police have seized ₹45,000 in cash, a car, and a two-wheeler used to commit the offence.
Published – December 14, 2025 05:12 pm IST
