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In a joint operation based on inputs from the Military Intelligence (MI) unit of the Pune-headquartered Southern Command, the Ahmednagar district police have arrested a 35-year-old who was posing as an officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the country’s foreign intelligence agency. Officials are now probing if the impersonator was trying to gain access to any sensitive establishments or was involved in cheating people using the fake identity on the pretext of providing them jobs .
The sleuths from the MI unit were working on an input that a suspect posing as a RAW officer was moving around in Ahmednagar, which has several sensitive defence establishments, such as Armoured Corps Centre and School, Mechanised Infantry Centre and School, and Vehicle Research and Development Establishment.
A joint operation was executed on Thursday night near Professor Chowk in Savedi area of Ahmednagar city around 8.30 pm, when a team comprising officials from the Local Crime Branch of the Ahmednagar police and sleuths from the MI zeroed in on a man. After preliminary questioning, the man was detained and searched by the police officials.
In his search, the officials recovered a forged identity card with name Santosh Rathod and name of the organisation as Research and Analysis Wing and his designation as Deputy Secretary (Internal Security). The card had a signature of an ‘issuing’ authority.
Based on the Aadhaar card and a voter identity card seized from his possession, the police have identified the suspect as Santosh Atmaram Rathod (35), a resident of Divte village in Shevgaon taluka of Ahmednagar district. Officials said that Rathod is unemployed and is believed to have introduced himself as a RAW officer to many people.
“We have received information that Rathod may have cheated some youth on the pretext of giving them jobs in government organisations using his fake designation. We are investigating whether he was trying to gain access to sensitive establishments in Ahmednagar and outside using his fake identity,” said an officer from the Ahmednagar crime branch who is probing the case.
Rathod has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to forgery, forgery for cheating, impersonating as a public servant, wearing garb and carrying a token as public servant.
A large number of cases of fraudsters posing as Army and defence personnel were investigated over the last few years by police jurisdictions in Pune, Ahmednagar, Nashik following inputs from the Military Intelligence. Imposters posing as Army officers or personnel, wearing Army uniform, posting photos in Army uniforms on social media have been arrested in these cases.
In many of these cases, the suspects were found having taken money from youths on the pretext of helping them get defence jobs. The investigators have recovered forged documents like identity cards, appointment letters, character certificates, service certificates, even tax deduction certificates, bank documents identifying the suspects as Army officers along with fake seals and letterheads of Army establishments in some cases.
