A young man impersonating a government officer in Chennai and his accomplice, a government employee, have been arrested for conning a woman in Ramanathapuram of ₹15 lakh, promising to get jobs for three of her relatives.
The District Crime Branch (DCB) police in Ramanathapuram have booked the impersonator, A. Prakash alias Navappan (25) and his accomplice George Philip, also from Chennai, on charges of cheating (Section 420 of IPC) and breach of trust (Section 406 of IPC) and seized ₹15 lakh from them on Sunday. George was working as an assistant in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, government of Tamil Nadu.
According to police, J. Daisy (61) of Pulikara Street in Ramanathapuram, had paid ₹15 lakh to George, who promised to get government jobs for her son-in-law and two other relatives, through Prakash, who claimed to be a Deputy Secretary in the Tamil Nadu Public Services Commission (TNPSC). The woman was an acquaintance of George. Police said last year, he had asked Ms. Daisy to meet Prakash at the Secretariat in Chennai to get her relatives employed. He demanded ₹15 lakh from her.
However, later when the duo began pestering her for the money in advance she grew suspicious and approached the police. On Saturday, when Prakash and George came to Ramanathapuram to collect the money, the police detained them for questioning. During interrogation, the police found that Prakash, an M.Phil degree holder, was an impersonator and also possessed several fake car passes.
Ramanathapuram Superintendent of Police Varun Kumar told The Hindu that Prakash during interrogation, revealed that he had a fair idea of the working of government officers and would drop names of senior officials. He was also aware of the functions of the Prisons Department and claimed to have connections in the cine industry. An officer who questioned him, said he appeared to have had contacts with many jailers in the Prisons Department.
Police said he had printed visiting cards bearing the names of Prakash and Navappan with designations such as Deputy Secretary, Department of Energy and Deputy Secretary, TNPSC. In his vehicle, he had blank letter pads printed in the name of a Lok Sabha MP and a few community certificates issued in the names of different people.
Police said he had also issued a vehicle pass to a journalist of a neighbourhood newspaper in Chennai “for visiting Secretariat daily and interviewing officials.”
The two were remanded in judicial custody by the Judicial Magistrate II in Ramanathapuram.