Fake IAS officer arrested in Kolkata

A man in his 60s was arrested in Kolkata, India, on Sunday for allegedly impersonating as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer posted at the Chief Minister’s office. The accused, identified as Shanto Kumar Mitra, had allegedly taken Rs 11.8 lakhs (about USD 15,700) from a woman promising to allot two government flats at Rajarhat under VVIP Quota and also arrange a foreign liquor license. However, he neither gave her any favor nor returned the money.

According to police, a complaint of cheating was lodged against the man at Burtolla police station by a lady named Manju Ghosh last December. On Sunday, he was arrested from a hotel in Park Circus, where he had been hiding for a year. His car parked outside the hotel had stickers of Nabanna, Writer’s Building, Raj Bhavan, Kolkata Police and West Bengal Police on it. Cops have seized the car and also some documents from his room.

During the investigation, it was found that the accused was not an IAS officer but a fraudster who had been impersonating as one for quite some time. He had also cheated several other people using the same modus operandi. Police said the man was actually a resident of Beleghata but sometimes used to stay in Haridevpur area too.