Araria: The accused, identified as Ranveer Kumar, was detained by the Nagar police after officers noticed suspicious behaviour near the district collectorate. Police say the man routinely wore a full police uniform, roamed government complexes and targeted visitors, often threatening action or arrest to extract bribes.
Suspicion raised by behaviour near collectorate
According to police, a tip-off was received about a man in uniform behaving unusually in the collectorate premises. His mannerisms and communication, officers said, “did not resemble that of a trained police official.”
Acting on the alert, Station House Officer Manish Kumar Razak assembled a team and reached the spot. The man was intercepted near the election office while riding a motorcycle in a sub-inspector’s uniform. When asked to identify himself, he claimed to be “SI Ranveer Kumar of the 2018 batch.”
Questioning exposes contradictions
Once taken in for questioning, officers asked him basic queries about senior officers, police procedures, training modules and postings. The man reportedly gave vague and contradictory replies, raising further suspicion.
He was brought to the Nagar police station, where he eventually admitted that he was not a police officer.
Ranveer’s real identity and three-year extortion trail
During interrogation, he revealed his real identity as Ranveer Kumar, son of Arjun Paswan, a resident of Singheswar Dudhailla village in Madhepura district. He confessed that he had been impersonating a sub-inspector for the past three years, travelling across neighbouring districts and extorting people under the guise of official authority.
Ranveer allegedly operated near police offices and the collectorate, approaching people who came seeking help in public grievance hearings and charging them money in the name of “fixing” their cases.
He also targeted vehicles on highways, stopping out-of-state cars and threatening to issue challans unless they paid bribes.
The pistol recovered from him, police confirmed, was a black toy lighter designed to look like a weapon.
Police confirm arrest and investigation
SHO Razak said the arrest was made after the team realised the impersonator was using the uniform to conduct illegal extortion.
“A man roaming the collectorate complex in a sub-inspector’s uniform was detained and found to be a fake officer who had been extorting people,” Razak said. “An FIR has been registered and further investigation is under way.”
Police seized his uniform, bike and the toy pistol. A detailed inquiry into the full extent of his activities is ongoing.
