CHENNAI: A 61-year-old man, who was dismissed from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), was arrested by the city police for allegedly posing as a policeman and extorting a half-sovereign ring from an 80-year-old man in Mambalam last week.

The man, Bharathi of Cuddalore, stopped the senior citizen, accusing him of being involved in a criminal case, and asked him to part way with his gold rings and fled the scene.

The police said Bharathi is a serial offender who was involved in similar cases across the city. The police have also arrested his accomplice, Ravichandran (54), who allegedly helped him in melting the stolen gold and pawning them off.

On December 30, the victim was walking along Gopal Street in T Nagar when Bharathi confronted him, claiming to be a policeman, and made him hand over his four-gram gold ring.

The Mambalam police said Bharathi was involved in similar cases in Tambaram, Tiruvottiyur, Flower Bazaar, Tindivanam, and Mayiladuthurai limits, too. He and his accomplice were produced before a magistrate and remanded in judicial custody.