Patna, Aug 5 (IANS) In a sensational case of impersonation and attempted administrative manipulation, a man allegedly posed as the Personal Assistant (PA) to Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh and tried to get an undertrial prisoner transferred from Bhagalpur Jail to Patna’s Beur Jail.
The incident came to light on August 4 when the Prison Department, under the jurisdiction of the Sachivalaya police station, received a call at around 3:50 p.m.
The caller, claiming to be the Union Minister’s PA, allegedly directed officials to immediately transfer an undertrial lodged in Bhagalpur Jail to Beur Jail.
The caller’s commanding tone and the nature of the request raised suspicion among prison officials, who promptly sought to verify the instruction.
When they contacted the minister’s actual PA, he categorically denied making the call or issuing any such directive.
The verification exposed the attempted impersonation, triggering a police investigation.
Patna Police subsequently traced and arrested the accused with the help of technical surveillance.
The accused has been identified as Dheeraj Kumar, a resident of Mehandia in Arwal district.
A case has been registered against him at the Sachivalaya police station under relevant provisions of law.
Briefing the media on Wednesday, Patna Central SP Mamta Kalyani said Dheeraj Kumar appeared to be a habitual and cunning offender.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that he had allegedly made similar fraudulent calls to officials in the past while impersonating a judge, senior government official or personal assistant to a minister.
Police are now investigating the accused’s criminal history and trying to determine which prisoner he wanted transferred to Beur Jail and why.
Investigators are also examining whether he acted alone or was part of an organised network involving individuals linked to the Beur and Bhagalpur jails.
The Central SP said a detailed investigation was underway and that the involvement of any other persons would be established based on the evidence gathered during the probe.
–IANS
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