The Aman Sandesh Times
Ahmedabad : A man accused of defrauding people by claiming connections with high-level politicians, including the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), was arrested in Haryana by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch. Bharat Chhabra, who posed as a CBI officer, was caught after a months-long search.
The arrest follows a peculiar case in which Chhabra, 40, impersonated a CBI officer at a hotel in Ahmedabad and fled without settling his bill. Gujarat police had been on the lookout for Chhabra for over a month and a half. He was arrested in Karnal, Haryana.
According to the police, Chhabra also solicited Rs 2.22 lakh from an individual to secure the release of a prisoner from jail. He claimed to have sway over matters pertaining to the CBI, Home Ministry, PMO, and even influential figures in the BJP and RSS. Promising extraordinary favours, he would even encourage people to call him at midnight to demonstrate his supposed clout.
Chhabra, originally from Haryana’s Karnal, is said to have used his skills to weave an intricate web of deception across several states, including Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and Telangana. His reputation for political connections was so widespread in Haryana that Gujarat Police faced significant challenges in arresting him.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bharat Patel of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch said that Chhabra, who holds a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) degree, had been engaging in such fraudulent activities for the past four years.
He is a frequent traveller to Ahmedabad and has multiple cases registered against him, both at the Ahmedabad Crime Branch and Adalaj Police Station,” ACP Patel stated.
A local court granted police a 10-day remand for further investigation. During the remand period, the police plan to probe the full extent of his fraudulent network and uncover potential accomplices.
Investigators suspect that Chhabra may have created multiple fake Aadhaar cards and purchased over 20 SIM cards to support his activities. He allegedly used selfies and photographs with politicians to establish credibility and gain the trust of his targets.
Chhabra reportedly stayed at two hotels in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar, posing as a CBI officer, without paying for his accommodation. Complaints from the hotel owners eventually led to the unravelling of his scheme.
