Patna: In a disturbing case of impersonation, a fraudster posing as Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma duped officers into detaining two hotel employees on false orders. The incident unfolded at the Gandhi Maidan police station, triggering an internal investigation and prompting new directives across city police stations.
Inspector Kavita Rani of Gandhi Maidan station received a call from an unknown number, with the caller claiming to be the Patna SSP. The caller instructed her to immediately bring the hotel manager and HR head of a named hotel to the police station. Repeating the order on the station’s official landline, the impersonator added that he was on the way with an STF team, and backup could be taken from the police line if necessary.
Without delay, Inspector Rani contacted the hotel, had both officials brought to the station, and informed her superiors, including City SP Diksha and the SDPO. Anticipating the SSP’s arrival, several officers also reached the hotel. However, as hours passed with no senior officer appearing, suspicions began to arise.
Upon further investigation, the phone number used to issue the fake order was found switched off. It was later traced to Kolkata and registered under the name Mohammad Amir. This confirmed the fraud, and the case was escalated.
Police arrested one suspect, Vikas Kumar of Gayaji, in connection with the call. “We are analysing mobile location and call details. Some technical evidence has also been recovered,” said Additional SHO Paritosh Kumar.
Following the incident, the Superintendent of Police issued strict instructions that any phone orders from senior officers must be directly verified through official channels. Orders received from unknown numbers will now be categorised under a ‘Red Flag Category’ to prevent similar incidents.
This is not the first time such a fraud has occurred. In 2023, a man impersonated an Inspector General in Patna and issued fake instructions to district officials. Cyber experts attribute the rise in such crimes to widespread leaks of public data and the availability of police officers’ personal details on social media.
