Jharkhand man arrested for impersonating IAS officer for seven years
Ranchi: A 35-year-old man who allegedly posed as a senior IAS officer for nearly seven years has been arrested in Jharkhand’s Palamu district, police said.
The accused, identified as Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Kukhi village under the Haidernagar police station area, admitted during interrogation that he had falsely claimed to be a civil servant after repeatedly failing the UPSC Civil Services Examination, The New Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
According to Hussainabad Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) MD Yakub, Kumar told investigators that it was his father’s dream for him to become an IAS officer. “He attempted the UPSC examination four times but was unsuccessful. Following this, he lied to his father, family members, and relatives, claiming that he had become an Indian Posts and Telegraphs Accounts and Finance Service (IPTAFS) officer, and had been living as a fake officer for the past 6-7 years,” TNIE quoted Yakub as saying.
The fraud came to light on January 2, when Kumar visited the Hussainabad police station seeking to meet the station house officer over a land dispute involving a relative. He introduced himself as a 2014-batch IAS officer of the Odisha cadre, claiming he was currently posted as a Chief Accounts Officer in Bhubaneswar.
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When questioned about his postings in Dehradun, Hyderabad, and Bhubaneswar, he gave contradictory statements and claimed to be an IPTAFS officer, equivalent to an IAS officer, before leaving the station.
Suspicious of his claims, the SDPO initiated a preliminary inquiry, which revealed that Kumar was neither an IAS nor an IPTAFS officer and had no record of employment in any government service.
When summoned for questioning, he failed to produce any valid documents, including appointment letters, identity cards, or departmental papers, and eventually confessed to impersonating an officer.
During a search of his person and vehicle, police recovered a fake identity card, a fake nameplate, and other suspicious materials, which were seized and sealed.
A case has been registered at Hussainabad Police Station under Sections 204 (tampering with evidence), 205 (Code of Criminal Procedure), 336(2) (punishments for forgery), 336(3) (Forgery for the purpose of cheating), 337 (using forged documents as genuine), 339 (Liability for Fraudulent Conduct), and 340(2) (Code of Criminal Procedure) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The accused has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody, police said.
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Child rape-murder: Hundreds protest on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune; traffic hit
Pune (PTI): Hundreds of people blocked the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune to protest the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, leading to traffic disruption on the busy route for about four hours.
The girl's family members and other demonstrators placed the body on the road in the Navale Bridge area on Saturday evening and demanded stringent punishment for the 65-year-old man arrested in the case.
Several videos surfaced showing a huge traffic jam on the highway.
Later, the victim's last rites were performed at the Vaikunt crematorium here shortly after midnight amid tight police security.
The accused man, who works as a labourer and has a criminal record, allegedly lured the girl with the promise of food on Friday in the Bhor tehsil of Pune district. He then took her to a cattle enclosure where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and later killed her by hitting her with a stone, according to the police.
He was arrested based on CCTV footage from a private residence, which captured him with the child.
A case was registered against him under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and he has been remanded in police custody till May 7.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Saturday met the family of the victim, assuring them of strict action against the accused and a fast-track trial.
Describing the incident as "shocking" and a "blot on humanity", Pawar said the government stands firmly with the victim's family and will ensure justice.
She also spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sought a fast-track court trial so that the accused receives the harshest punishment.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde directed Pune rural police to gather concrete evidence to build a watertight case and conduct the trial in a fast-track court.
Efforts should be made to ensure the accused gets the death penalty, a statement quoted Shinde as saying.
