Civil engineer held for impersonating OSD to Union Home minister
New Delhi: In a shocking case of impersonation, the Cyber Police Station of New Delhi District has arrested a civil engineer for posing as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Minister of Home Affairs, the officials said on Sunday.
The accused has been identified as Robin Upadhyay (48) a resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh (UP), had allegedly sent fraudulent emails to various companies, including one related to the prestigious Ganga Expressway project.
Dr Hemant Tiwari, Additional DCP New Delhi said that the complaint was lodged by Akshat Sharma, who received an email from a fake email ID claiming to be Rajeev Kumar (OSD to Home Minister). The email instructed Sharma’s company to appoint Robin Upadhyay as the Senior Associate Vice President cum Project Coordinator for the ongoing Ganga Expressway project. Suspecting foul play, Sharma filed a complaint with the Cyber Police Station, New Delhi District.
Upon receiving the complaint, a dedicated team comprising Inspector Kusum Dangi, Sub-Inspector Vipin Tyagi, Sub-Inspector Manjeet Singh, Constable Rakesh, and Constable Mahesh was formed under the close supervision of ACP Ratan Lal, Operations Cell, New Delhi District.
An FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act. Through meticulous technical surveillance, the investigating team traced the prime suspect, Robin Upadhyay, who had created the fraudulent email ID rajeev.osd.mha@gmail.com. Further analysis revealed that the email was registered in Upadhyay’s name and was created approximately 6-7 days prior, Tiwari mentioned.
During interrogation, Upadhyay, a civil engineer with 25 years of experience, confessed to the crime. He admitted to being unemployed and believed that impersonating a high-ranking official would increase his chances of securing employment. With the intent to deceive, Upadhyay fabricated an email impersonating Rajeev Kumar, OSD to the Minister of Home Affairs, attaching his own CV to support his claim for the position of Senior Associate Vice President cum Project Coordinator for the Ganga Expressway project, Tiwari confirmed.
The investigation will continue to ascertain any previous involvements of the accused, Tiwari added.