UP: To settle land row, man poses as commissioner

LUCKNOW: A festering property dispute involving land sharks forced a man to chalk out a unique way to press district authorities in Amethi to get the plot restored to his kin.
He masqueraded as Moradabad commissioner to make calls to top officials, but his luck ran out when the district magistrate blew the lid off the big con.
The fake commissioner was identified as Naveen Kumar, 28, resident of Lalganj in Pratapgarh, and was booked for fraud, deterring public servant from discharge of duty and dishonesty.
DM blew the lid off fake commissioner
For two weeks, Kumar made at least 10 calls from different numbers to several officials, including district magistrate, subdivisional magistrate, police officers and chief medical officer, Amethi.
“The truth unfolded when Kumar made a call to sub-divisional magistrate, Gauriganj. The SDM’s lekhpal, Hariom, took the call and was instructed by Kumar to quickly decide in favour of a particular individual in the land dispute. Hariom sensed something was amiss and tipped off his seniors, including the district magistrate Arun Kumar,” said police circle officer, Gauriganj, Arpit Kapoor.
DM Arun Kumar, who was earlier approached with a similar request, dialled the commissioner, Moradabad, to get to the bottom of the case. Within minutes, he realized the caller was fake. He swiftly instructed superintendent of police, Amethi, Khyati Garg, to lodge an FIR, said the officer. While tracking the number, we found the fake commissioner was based in Lalganj area and dispatched a team.
After his arrest, Kumar told police, he only wanted a decision in favour of his maternal relative, who had been running from pillar to post for over a year without getting a hearing.