A man with hopes of joining the police was arrested for cheating after stuffing his vest under a wig so he could make the minimum height required for the post, media reported on Friday.
Roprts said that 28-year-old Nilesh Ramlal Bari came up with the ruse after realising that at 165 centimetres (5ft 4in), he was three centimetres too short to be a constable with the Mumbai Police.
Keen-eyed police suspected something amiss when he stepped up to be measured at a recruitment drive in the city on Thursday and the vest was discovered under the hairpiece.
He was arrested for cheating and later released on bail.
"During interrogations, Bari confessed that he desperately wanted this job but at 165 centimetres, he was falling short of passing the height test," sub-inspector Atmaram Parab, of Vakola police station, was quoted as saying.
"By creating a false cavity, the accused reached the requisite height but the alert constable caught his lie."
Police jobs in India are much sought-after, despite low-pay and long hours, with annual recruitment drives in Mumbai regularly attracting tens of thousands of candidates.