A man impersonating Rahul Gandhi's personal secretary has been arrested for allegedly swindling crores of rupees from Congress leaders, promising them election tickets and party positions.
A 42-year-old man who was arrested here for allegedly swindling crores of rupees from Congress leaders by posing as Rahul Gandhi's personal secretary has been sent to a 14-day judicial custody, police said on Wednesday.
Dehradun Police is now planning to seek custody of the accused, identified as Gaurav Kumar from Amritsar, for further questioning.
Kumar allegedly duped several Congress leaders across the country by promising to secure election tickets or party positions for them.
"The arrested accused has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days. We are preparing to apply for PCR (police custody remand) for further investigation in the case," Superintendent of Police (City) Pramod Kumar told PTI.
The scam came to light after Dehradun-based Congress leader Bhavana Pandey lodged a complaint at the Rajpur police station on May 3, alleging that she was cheated of Rs 25 lakh by a man who claimed he could secure her a high-ranking party post.
Pandey claimed that the accused made her listen to the voices of senior Congress leaders over a call while pretending to be in a meeting with them at a Dehradun hotel.
The complainant believed the claims and paid the amount, which an associate of the accused collected from her residence last month. The accused stopped answering calls after receiving the money.
Upon realising she was duped, Pandey approached the police and lodged a complaint. A case was subsequently registered under Section 318 (4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Investigation revealed that the accused used a fake 'Truecaller' profile to impersonate Gandhi's personal secretary Kanishk Singh. Police identified the prime accused after analysing CCTV footage and through intelligence.
According to police, the accused had contacted several senior Congress leaders in Uttarakhand. He was caught in Dehradun's Jakhan area while allegedly trying to collect payment from another party office-bearer.
In a statement, police said Kumar obtained information about Kanishk Singh, who served as personal secretary to "a senior Congress leader" from 2003 to 2015, and created a 'Truecaller' ID under Singh's name.
He then obtained detailed information about senior Congress leaders across Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar from websites such as myneta.info.
With the help of three of his associates -- Chajju, Rajat Mada and Maninder Singh Kalu, all from Punjab -- Kumar then committed a series of frauds. Cases were already registered against him in Haryana, Rajasthan and Bihar, police said.
Investigating officer Suraj Singh said the accused is a habitual offender with a keen interest in politics. The 42-year-old is married with two children and comes from a financially weak background.
Initial investigations suggest the gang also targeted state Congress leader Sonia Anand Rawat, demanding Rs 15 lakh for a party post. "We are in the process of verifying these claims," SP Pramod Kumar said.
Posing as Rahul Gandhi's personal secretary, Kumar allegedly defrauded two leaders in Jaipur in 2017 of Rs 1.90 crore and Rs 12 lakh, respectively. In 2025, he duped another leader in Patna of Rs 3 lakh.
Police said the fraud has been going on for a long time, but many victims refrained from reporting the matter, fearing loss of face. Efforts are on to ascertain how many more politicians fell prey to the scam, they added.