IAS Imposter Unmasked: Two Arrested in Pune, Probe Widens into Foreign Links
Image Source: Internet
Pune police have arrested two individuals, including an Afghan national, in connection with a 45-year-old woman who posed as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Delhi. Kalpana Trimbakrao Bhagwat, a former university employee, was arrested on November 23 for allegedly forging identity documents and staying in a star hotel using a tampered Aadhaar card. Investigators suspect Bhagwat operated a wider network involving foreign nationals and had ties with individuals in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Saudi Arabia. The police have sought information on her educational records and employment history from her school and former employer. A special squad of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police conducted coordinated raids in Pune and Delhi, leading to the arrest of Mohammad Ashraf Khil and Abhishek Chaudhary. Both were produced before a Delhi court and placed on transit remand. They were brought to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar for custodial interrogation. The police have found that Bhagwat received ₹32.6 lakh between January 1 and November 21 this year from different individuals. She had also issued forged IAS appointment papers, two cheques worth ₹19 crore and ₹6 lakh, and an alleged endorsement letter purportedly signed by former vice-chancellor S. N. Pathan. Bhagwat remains highly evasive during questioning, and the police are expected to reveal fresh details to understand the financial, digital, and international links she maintained while posing as an IAS officer. The court has remanded Bhagwat to police custody till December 5, and investigators will begin questioning Khil and Chaudhary after they arrive in Sambhajinagar on Saturday.
