Dehradun: Dehradun Police have busted a multi-state racket with the arrest of Gaurav Kumar, a conman from Amritsar who allegedly posed as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's personal secretary to swindle politicians and party aspirants of crores.
The arrest, made under Operation Prahar, followed a complaint by Uttarakhand Congress leader Bhavana Pandey, who said she was duped of Rs 25 lakh. Kumar, impersonating Gandhi's aide Kanishk Singh, allegedly promised her a high-ranking party post. He sent an associate to collect cash from her residence before vanishing.
Investigations revealed Kumar used fake caller IDs and mined political websites to identify victims in Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Bihar. By presenting himself as a trusted insider, he convinced aspirants he could secure election tickets or influential posts.
Police intercepted him at a Dehradun mall while he was attempting another collection. During interrogation, Kumar admitted to defrauding leaders in Jaipur and Patna of nearly Rs 2 crore. Authorities recovered mobile phones and a data dongle, believed to hold further evidence.
Police say Kumar operated with three accomplices, currently absconding, and more arrests are likely as the probe widens.