“Investigators found during their probe that Bhalla was the beneficiary of all these mails and was posing as the IAS officer. They are now conducting raids at his home and office to seize his laptop and other essential evidence,” sources said.
Unable to get a job despite interviewing with several firms, a 30-year-old man started sending mails to the CEOs of leading companies, posing as an IAS officer posted as the joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. Within five months, the man, Karan Bhalla, landed a job in a leading events management company in Gurgaon. He also got a visa to travel to Germany and the US after sending mails to the embassies posing as the officer, police said.
Eventually, in 2015, K K Dhingra, officer on special duty with the PMO, reported the matter to the CBI. But it took years for the central agency to get him — Bhalla was arrested by the CBI from his Gurgaon home two days ago.
Sources told The Indian Express that Dhingra was approached by Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, chairman of ITC, about an email the latter received on February 24, 2015, purportedly written by the officer. He also told Dhingra about a mobile number mentioned in the email.
“But the officer, currently additional secretary to the PMO, claimed that no such email was sent by him and the number did not belong to him either. Dhingra later reported the matter to the CBI, and the agency registered an FIR and started a probe,” sources said.
Using technical surveillance, the probe revealed the e-mail id from which the message was sent on July 30, 2014.
“On further scrutiny, it came to light that the various emails were sent to CEOs or heads of different companies, such as HCL, Vodafone, Flipkart, Tata Motors, Encompass and Unilever, for a job for Bhalla,” sources said.
Investigation revealed that some of the IP addresses used to send the mail were from an internet dongle issued in the name of Anu Bhalla.
“In some of the mails, investigators found that the resume of one Karan Bhalla attached, and it was stated that Bhalla should be hired. Some requests via email were also sent to the embassies of Germany and the US. While approaching the German embassy, the email mentioned that Bhalla had to set up an event during the Prime Minister’s visit there. While applying for a visa to the US, the sender shared his cell phone number,” sources said, adding that with the help of technical surveillance, investigators came to know that the number was registered in the name of an Amritsar resident, but was used by Bhalla.
Sources said Bhalla managed to land a job with a leading events management company as a senior manager. After his arrest, he was produced before a Delhi court, which sent him to police custody. “Investigators found during their probe that Bhalla was the beneficiary of all these mails and was posing as the IAS officer. They are now conducting raids at his home and office to seize his laptop and other essential evidence,” sources said.
