POKHARA: Police has arrested a person on the charge of swindling various people out of more than Rs 4 million while masquerading as a police officer in Pokhara of Kaski district on Wednesday.

The arrestee has been identified as Jivan Gurung (28) of Marshyangdi Rural Municipality-1 in Lamjung district.

According to police, Jivan has confessed to extorting Rs 700,000 from Guman Gurung of Pokhara Metropolitan City-10. Similarly, Jivan has been accused of collecting Rs 2,200,000 from Kum Bahadur Gurung of Syangja.

According to victim Kum Bahadur, Jivan masqueraded as a police officer and cajoled him to send Rs 2.2 million to buy a car worth Rs 5.5 million for Kum Bahadur, last July through IME money transfer. Jivan had later taken an additional sum of Rs 550,000 on the pretext of accessorising the vehicle.

Kum Bahadur came to know that he was being cheated only after Jivan was arrested, and has thereafter lodged a complaint against him with the police.

Kaski Police, after an investigation, has found that Jivan had been indulging in free meals at various Dohari Sanjh restaurants while pretending to be a police personnel. Police further informed that Jivan has collected Rs 400,000 from Hotel Mantra and Rs 12,000 from Saino Dohori.

Police have claimed that Jivan has swindled money out of 22 persons so far. According to the victims, Jivan deceived people by playing recorded sound of police communication set while on calls with them, which according to police can be downloaded from the internet.

So far, three complaints have been registered at the District Police Office, Kaski and police have filed a fraud case against the accused.

(Translated by: Sandeep Sen, Edited by: Priyanka Adhikari)