Ludhiana: A woman posing as a Punjab Police constable was detained along with her male accomplice on Tuesday night after they allegedly attempted to extort truck drivers in the city’s Transport Nagar area.The duo was apprehended after suspicious drivers alerted the 112 police control room, leading to a swift response from local authorities. The investigators claim that the woman, dressed in a full Punjab Police constable’s uniform, approached several truck drivers during the late-night hours. Accompanied by a male associate, she allegedly accused the drivers of engaging in “illegal activities” and threatened to register formal first-information reports (FIRs) unless they paid an undisclosed sum of money.The scheme unravelled when the drivers, noticing inconsistencies in the woman’s conduct and credentials, suspected she was an impostor. Rather than complying with the demands, the group stalled the pair and contacted the emergency helpline. Deputy commissioner of police (DCP-Rural) Jaskiranjit Singh Teja confirmed the detentions on Wednesday.The female suspect, from Gurdaspur originally, resides currently in Mohali, while the male accomplice is from the Meharban area in Ludhiana. “There are allegations that the accused routinely posed as police officers to extort money from the public,” DCP Teja said. “We are verifying these claims and investigating whether they have targeted others using this modus operandi.”While the suspects are in custody, police officials stated that a formal case has yet to be registered as they gather statements from the witnesses and verify the origin of the police uniform used in the commission of the alleged crime. Authorities are also looking into whether the pair has any prior criminal record or if they are part of a larger syndicate targeting transport workers in the region.
