#BreakingNews: Woman Impersonates IAS Officer for Six Months; National Security Probe Launched
Woman lived as elite bureaucrat using fake credentials, foreign funds, suspicious links.
A 45-year-old woman, Kalpana Trimbkarav Bhagwat, was taken into custody in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, after successfully posing as a high-ranking Indian Administrative Service officer for nearly six months while residing at the prestigious Hotel Ambassador on Jalna Road. Accompanied by her elderly mother, she occupied a premium suite at a daily tariff of approximately ₹7,000, projecting an image of authority and privilege that allowed her to evade scrutiny from hotel management until a routine verification triggered alarm.
During searches of her belongings, police recovered a meticulously forged 2017 Union Public Service Commission final selection list showing her name at serial number 333, alongside a blatantly altered Aadhaar card bearing the emblem of the Government of India. Investigators also seized a framed certificate proclaiming her the “Best IAS Officer of the Year” purportedly signed by a former vice-chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University — an honour that authorities have confirmed never existed and is now subject to detailed forensic examination.
Financial probing uncovered a trail of substantial monetary transfers into her bank accounts from her boyfriend, Ashraf Khalil, currently based in Afghanistan, and from her brother Aaved, who resides in Pakistan. Her smartphone yielded hundreds of passport-size photographs, completed visa application forms for foreign nationals, and draft emails promising swift Indian entry without documentation. These discoveries have prompted serious concerns about possible espionage or immigration-related offences beyond simple impersonation.
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Bhagwat frequently travelled to Jaipur, Delhi, and other major cities, and even abroad, claiming to attend closed-door meetings with joint secretaries in the Ministry of Power and senior officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs. She openly boasted to acquaintances and hotel staff about her ability to secure government transfers for officers and arrange visas within days, while simultaneously maintaining a live-in relationship with a significantly younger Afghan national whose family background is also under verification.
The case has now been transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in coordination with the Intelligence Bureau for intensive interrogation. Senior officers have indicated that the investigation will determine whether the woman’s elaborate deception was driven solely by financial greed or formed part of a larger network with potential national security ramifications. Her hotel suite has been sealed, all electronic devices seized, and every individual she interacted with during her luxurious stay is being traced and questioned.
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