Two held for posing as govt officials, duping fair price shop owner

A man from Thane and a woman from Mumbai were arrested for allegedly duping a fair price shop owner by posing as government officials, police said on Sunday.

The two, hailing from Mira Road and Santa Cruz, had gone to a fair price shop on November 5 and demanded to see the retail books and other documents, a Navghar police station official said.

"The duo demanded Rs 50,000 from the FPS owner for not taking action on the alleged irregularities in the books. The shopkeeper, who gave them Rs 20,000 at the time, lodged a complaint on Friday. The arrested accused have been identified as Shabanobano Siddiqui and Prashant Vishnu," he said.