A gang in the Indian state of Bihar somehow managed to run a fake police station out of a hotel for eight months before finally being caught by the actual police.
Cases of fraudsters impersonating police officers and soldiers are not uncommon in India, a country where the fear of and the respect for those in uniform are widespread, but a gang in the town of Banka, Bihar state, took the scam to a whole other level by setting up a fake police station just 500 meters from a real one. Apparently, the scammers operated their fake station out of a local hotel, where they posed as actual officers wearing realistic uniforms, badges and even firearms. They are believed to have scammed hundreds of people, having requested bribes for registering complaints, helping them secure social housing or jobs in the police, or otherwise solving their problems.