Woman Posing as IAS Officer Arrested in MP Over Job, Lease Fraud
A woman who posed as an IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh has been arrested for allegedly defrauding people with promises of government jobs and tourism property leases.
A 30-year-old woman in Madhya Pradesh has been arrested for allegedly impersonating an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer to defraud people across the state. The accused, identified as Tripti Singh Rajput, was taken into custody by Chanderi police in Ashoknagar district on August 23, along with her brother Sudhanshu Singh.
The investigation began after a vlog surfaced online showing Rajput and two other women claiming to be IAS officers visiting the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. Police later determined the video was not shot at the Assembly but at a gallery inside the Anthropological Museum complex in Bhopal. The two other women in the video told police they were asked to act as officers and claim they too were victims, alleging Rajput took Rs 3 lakh from each of them with a promise to make them IAS officers.
Police said Rajput used her fake identity as an Additional Director in the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department to collect money from people. In one case from Chanderi, four men allegedly paid her Rs 9.80 lakh in cash along with original documents for positions in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, with a further Rs 2 lakh due upon job confirmation. The jobs never materialised.
A search of Rajput's Bhopal residence uncovered purported government identity cards, letterheads, joining documents, trophies, and a Toyota Innova bearing a "Government of India" strip. Police also recovered a fake CBI identity card and a photograph from Mussoorie showing her holding a trophy. Investigators are examining a laptop from which files were allegedly deleted before her arrest.
A fourth FIR was registered in Bhopal after a Seoni resident alleged Rajput, her brother, and an associate took around Rs 49 lakh from him in instalments, promising to arrange a lease for an MP Tourism hotel. Police have identified two people who allegedly prepared the fake documents and are investigating the possible involvement of others. Rajput has been booked for cheating, personation, and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.