A fabricated story of a robbery at gunpoint creates panic in IC Colony

A viral message about a 30-year old laundry worker from the area being robbed by two people on a bike at gunpoint, was circulated in local IC Colony's Residential groups. The message eventualy reached the MHB Police station and Crime Branch and soon rushed to the laundry shop to investigate.

After going through the CCTV footage they found nothing as claimed in the viral message and took in the laundry works for interrogation. The laundry worker was identified as Ramesh Kanojiya, hailing from Uttar Pradesh and has been working at the laundry shop in Borivali West's IC Colony for the past ten years. Upon interrogating Kanojiya confessed that the entire story was fabricated just to avoid getting scolded by his boss.

ALSO READ: Why did Farhan Akhtar praise Mumbai Police? Read to know the matter

According to police, Kanojia explained, “I was cooking inside the shop on Sunday around 1 pm. At some point, someone entered and stole Rs 1,500, which I had kept in the drawer. After finishing my meal, I saw the money was missing and feared my boss would be angry.” “In the evening, I called my boss and made up the story about two men on a bike robbing me. Although my boss didn’t believe it, I kept telling it to others, including local watchmen,” Kanojia told the police officer.

The viral message, shared around the IC Colony area, read: “Robbery Alert in IC Colony: Yesterday at 4 pm, a man robbed the laundry at Prem Bhanu in IC Colony, holding the staff at gunpoint and taking all the cash from the drawer. This alarming incident happened in broad daylight, highlighting the lack of safety in the area. Please stay extremely alert and cautious.”

“On Monday morning, a resident shared a WhatsApp message about the ‘incident,’ which eventually reached the MHB Colony police. When officers reviewed the CCTV footage, they found no one had entered the shop during the time of the alleged robbery. They grew suspicious, took Kanojia into custody, and he confessed to making up the story,” the officer said. The MHB Police released Kanojiya after confirming his tale was fabricated.