The Crime Branch of Pune Police has arrested a man posing as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer posted with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The impersonator, 54, was caught after he attended a programme organised by a charitable trust in Aundh earlier this week.
The arrested man has been identified as Vasudev Nivrutti Tayde, 54, who posed as Dr Vinay Deo posted as a Deputy Secretary with PMO and claimed he was involved in work related to intelligence.
Pune City police officers said the Pune-based organisation Borderless World Foundation had organised a function in the Aundh area on Monday where an ambulance was to be sent to Jammu and Kashmir as a part of a charitable initiative.
The man posing as Deo attended the event and claimed he was an IAS officer. The trustees of the organisation found his movements and claims suspicious and reported him to the police, a Crime Branch officer said.
After a team from Unit 1 of the Crime Branch, launched a probe, they located the man and detained him for questioning. Tayde, a resident of Talegaon Dabhade, was arrested from his house.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amol Zende said, “The initial probe suggests that the suspect had been moving around posing as an IAS officer. We are investigating if he has cheated any more people or establishments by way of impersonation.”
Tayde has been booked under the Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to cheating and impersonation. The police have launched a probe into his past records, if any.