Man posing as IAS officer posted with PMO arrested in Pune, cover blown after he attends public event

Pune City police officers said the Pune-based organisation Borderless World Foundation had organised a function in the Aundh area on Monday where an ambulance was to be sent to Jammu and Kashmir as a part of a charitable initiative.

Adhik Kadam, Founder, Borderless World Foundation, told The Indian Express from Jammu over the phone that Tayde or ‘Dr Deo’ wasn’t invited to the event. “It was a small event of dispatching an ambulance to J&K. Only a small group of our trustees, advisors, and supporters were present at the event. The person concerned wasn’t an invitee. He had accompanied some of the invitees,” said Kadam.

Kadam said the man had introduced himself as an IAS officer working in the PMO but one of the trustees noted some discrepancies in his claims. “After making some preliminary inquiries, the trustees alerted the police. We work with utmost responsibility and transparency. That’s what we have learnt while working in J&K,” he added.

After a team from Unit 1 of the Crime Branch, launched a probe, they located Tayde and detained him for questioning. Tayde, a resident of Talegaon Dabhade, was arrested from his house.

Tayde is known to have prepared for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam in the past and has taken multiple attempts at clearing them. “Our probe suggests that Tayde has been booked in a similar offence of posing as a government official by the Dhule district police in 2000. We are now probing for how long he has been posing as an IAS officer and if there have been any breaches by him or if anyone has been cheated by him financially or otherwise,” a Crime Branch officer said.

Officials said Tayde left Dhule in the early 2000s after being booked for the offence of impersonation and later moved to Pune.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amol Zende said, “The initial probe suggests that the suspect had been moving around posing as an IAS officer. Some documents such as purchase bills with the name ‘Dr Vinay Deo’ were found in his possession. He used to attend public events and introduce himself as an IAS officer. We are investigating if he has cheated any more people or establishments by way of impersonation.”

Tayde has been booked under the Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to cheating and impersonation. The police have launched a probe into his past records, if any.