A 42-year-old man accused of impersonating a former aide of Rahul Gandhi to allegedly cheat Congress leaders across multiple states out of crores of rupees has been arrested by police in Dehradun. The accused, identified as Gaurav Kumar from Amritsar, is alleged to have promised party posts and election tickets in exchange for large sums of money.

According to police, Kumar allegedly posed as Kanishk Singh, who previously served as Gandhi’s secretary. Investigators said he used a fake identity on the caller identification application Truecaller to convince victims that he was genuinely associated with senior Congress leadership.

Kumar was arrested following a complaint lodged at Rajpur police station by Dehradun-based Congress leader Bhavana Pandey on May 3. In her complaint, Pandey alleged that she had been cheated of ₹25 lakh after the accused promised to help her secure a senior organisational position within the party.

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Police said Kumar allegedly contacted leaders while staying at a hotel in Dehradun and used recorded audio clips purportedly featuring senior Congress leaders to strengthen his claims. Investigators believe the accused used these tactics to create the impression that he had direct access to the party’s top leadership and influence over appointments and ticket distribution.

After reportedly being convinced by the assurances, Pandey transferred the money through one of Kumar’s associates. The complaint subsequently triggered an investigation that led to the accused’s arrest. Authorities are now probing whether similar frauds were committed against Congress leaders in other states.

Pramod Kumar, Superintendent of Police (City), said the accused has been sent to 14-day judicial custody. Police officials added that they plan to seek custodial remand for further interrogation as part of efforts to uncover the full extent of the alleged fraud network and identify additional victims or accomplices involved in the operation.

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