Posing as Home Ministry official, 41-yr-old duped NGOs of crores

By promising funds from abroad and helping them with open charitable hospitals, the man convinced them to deposit money into his accounts. (Representational Image)

A 41-year-old man has been arrested for impersonating the Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and duping office-bearers of NGOs and trusts. By promising them funds from abroad and helping them open charitable hospitals, he convinced them to deposit money into his accounts, police said.

The crime — committed by the accused on various occasions — came to light in January, when a Faridabad resident registered a case alleging the man, who claimed to be the Joint Secretary of the Home Ministry and duped him and one of his acquaintances of Rs 1 crore.

He told victims that the money was “payment” for bringing them funds worth Rs 735 crore from abroad, and providing them approval to open a charitable hospital. The accused allegedly produced fake documents to con the victims. The accused was arrested by Faridabad Police Saturday, and has been identified as Suvendu Shekhar Acharya, who hails from Odisha.

Police said during investigation, it emerged that the accused had duped several other NGOs and trusts in similarly.