From photos with PM to posh address — FIR details how UP ‘conman’ Sherpuria ‘duped’ his targets

The FIR was lodged based on a complaint by Inspector Sachin Kumar. Rai has been booked under IPC Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation) and under the Information Technology Act.

According to the FIR, Rai told the police during questioning that the Youth Rural Entrepreneur Foundation, which he promoted on social media, received Rs 5 crore (January 21, 2023) and Rs 1 crore (January 23, 2023) in its bank account. This money was reportedly received from Dalmia Family Trust Office, the family office of industrialist Gaurav Dalmia.

Sources close to the trust office told The Indian Express the group has made donations of over Rs 100 crore to charity organisations over the last 6-7 years. They said while Rai had introduced them to the Youth Rural Entrepreneur Foundation, he had claimed he was not formally associated with it.

In his complaint, the inspector has alleged that for several years, Rai has been accumulating money through fraud and cheating. The complaint states that Rai has been the director of several companies that have defaulted on bank payments.

“He created multiple fake IDs under different names as well as dummy companies, and kept his trusted people as directors in these companies,” reads the complaint.

The complaint says that “his primary work is to collect money by telling them (his alleged victims) that he has reach in government and with senior officials”. “He is also involved in money laundering, hawala, and tax evasion,” reads the complaint.

The complaint alleges that Rai would post photos of himself on social media with the Prime Minister and Union Ministers, and made material gains using these posts.

The complaint states that Rai was arrested from Kanpur railway station and brought to the STF office in Lucknow.

The FIR states that when Rai’s belongings were checked, it was found that he was carrying two Aadhaar cards. “While one Aadhaar had the address of DLF phase 3, Gurgaon, the other had an address of Central Delhi – House number 1, Near DID Safdarjung Road, Delhi Riding Club, Central Delhi,” reads the complaint.

His website, however, lists his address as “1, Beside Race Course, Safdarjung Rd”. When The Indian Express visited the listed address, it found carts and cycles which police said he gave to vendors to sell food and drinks. Guards outside the house said they had not seen him for a fortnight and that he often travels for work.

The FIR also states that Rai had membership cards of Delhi Gymkhana Club, YMCA International Centre, and Club19, and a movement pass with the stamp of a Deputy Commissioner of Police.

“A total of Rs 50,980 was recovered from him and the mobile phones recovered from him showed different social media accounts were being used, and there were photos on these accounts with several important persons,” states the complaint, adding that photos and posts of Rai on social media with UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, Union Minister Anurag Thakur, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and the Prime Minister were found from his phone.

An officer with the UP Special Task Force (STF) said Rai operated out of a bungalow in Lutyens’ Delhi and has been “flexing” his connections for years. His website talks of his work in uplifting the poor, supplying oxygen cylinders during the pandemic, and writing over half-a-dozen books. He claims he has provided over 20,000 jobs and won over 70 awards. He also runs an organisation, For Youths, which is under police scanner.

His biography reads: “Born in Assam and originally from a poor farmer’s house in Sherpur… Sanjay Sherpuria, who writes the name of his village, ‘Sherpuria’, behind his name, started his life with the job of a security guard in Gujarat’s Kutch district in Gandhi Dham. Reached the climax of the interminable hard work to the highest peak of the trade. He did not give up in any harsh situation in his life. Keeping trust in his God and his deeds he worked relentlessly.”

The website also speaks of his “mission of fighting unemployment” and being a United Nations–SDG Ambassador.

The arrest comes a week after Rai’s alleged associate, Kashif Ahmed, was arrested on similar charges. An STF officer said both men knew each other, and allegedly cheated people with the promise of government jobs and getting tenders cleared.

Kashif, too, would regularly post photos with politicians. His Facebook account has a photo of him with the Prime Minister, which police said is morphed.

Last week, the UP STF lodged an FIR against Kashif saying he had been posting misleading content for over two years and that the “reputation of the Prime Minister and other central ministers is getting damaged”.

His location was traced and he was arrested while driving a black Mercedes and carrying three iPhones.

“It was during the search and interrogation that we found a modus operandi that was similar to Rai’s. He said they are associates and Rai guided him on how to make money,” claimed an STF officer.

The FIR mentions that Kashif forged invites to lunches, ceremonies and exclusive events hosted by the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers and other leaders. During interrogation, he revealed that his father used to run a music and news channel a few years ago which suffered losses. To recover, he told police he started “editing” his photos with leaders and posting them to dupe people.

Meanwhile, in Ahmedabad, the State Bank of India (SBI) put out a notice in newspapers on Thursday declaring “Sanjayprakash Baleshwar Rai” as a “wilful defaulter”. It identified Rai as “managing director” of “Kandla Energy and Chemicals Ltd”, based in Ahmedabad. It listed two other officials of the company, with total dues of over Rs 349.12 crore. It listed Rai’s address as “Catriona Ambience Island, near Ambience Mall” in Gurgaon.