Guwahati: A man impersonating the District Commissioner (DC) of Sonitpur district in Assam was arrested with some of his on Monday.
As per sources, the individual was apprehended in Tezpur of Sonitpur for impersonating the DC and engaging in fraudulent activities.
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As per a source, the accused, identified as Ankur Saikia, was arrested after an operation launched by the police.
He was moving around the district claiming that he was appointed as the new DC with a team of assistants and security officers. They were moving in a convoy of three vehicles.
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The source said that the mastermind as of now seems to be Ankur Saikia. But, there might be someone else involved as they had been paying for all the services they used.
Ankur has been found to be a resident of Panchali in Golaghat district. He also has a master’s degree from Kaziranga University. He told so to the police during primary interrogation.
The source said that the accused even had a fake appointment letter with him. The letter had a fake signature of the Assam Chief Minister.
He was assisted by Bishal Hazarika of Jamuguri, who had allegedly drafted the fake appointment letter. It was not just the DC’s appointment, Bishal had also drafted one for himself.
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While there were no reports of any extortion, the source said that he along with his team did create some nuisance in the district.
The source added that he was first noticed five days ago when he watched a movie at a cinema hall in a mall. However, while they did create some nuisance, he paid for the tickets as well as all the other services. The payments were made with a credit card.
However, one of his security officials, who happens to be a professional bouncer told the staff of the hall that he (Ankur) is the new DC of the district.
The same was then communicated to the district administration and police through a source as an enquiry. The police swung into action to nab the person as there were no such orders and it was evident that the person was a fraud.
Further on an investigation, Ankur with his entourage was arrested from the TIMes Hospital where he went for a “check-up”. However, they created a scene there and were accordingly then nabbed by the police who were already out looking for them.
On interrogation, the accused claimed that he had cleared APSC and had received his appointment letter through the mail by the “official” Assam government ID. It was later found to be forged.
He made claims that an “agency” had provided him with the vehicles and the security persons. The police found Rs 1 lakh in cash from him and seized the three vehicles.
He was moving around in a Toyota Innova Crysta (AS01DS1680) while his escort personnel were in a Mahindra Thar without a registration plate and others in a Mahindra Marazzo (AS01DU9246).
The source informed that the term “agency” used by him is now being verified and the police have already deployed the cyber crime cell to check all digital evidence.
The source said that since he was spending money for more than a month now, it is now suspected that he may have some external links who were funding it.
The police suspect that the entire situation may be just a trailer and that the accused had something bigger in mind.
The source informed that all the persons found with him were arrested.
The arrested are Bishal Hazarika, Biki Hazarika, Sunti Hazarika, Kaushik Kalita, Rinku Kalita, Himal Bharali, Achinta Das, Ajit Das, Niku Moni Das and their “boss”, Ankur Saikia.
Among this, Bishal and Biki are brothers but what was interesting is that their father is Sunti Hazarika who accompanied them in the impersonation plan, the source said.
They seem to have hired Kaushik, Rinku and Himal to pose as security officers. These three are found to be professional bouncers.
The police are now investigating the exact motive behind the entire plan.
It may be mentioned that the real DC of Sonitpur is 1993-batch ACS officer, Deba Kumar Mishra.