In perhaps the first case involving a caller identification app to project a constable as a fairly senior functionary in the Punjab Government, Punjab police has arrested a constable for posing as Chief Minister’s PA to dupe government officers and others.
Constable Manjinder Singh was using the Truecaller app to falsely project him as senior officer of various designations.
Taking note, the state Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta has directed the Special DGP, Punjab Armed Police (PAP), to dismiss the constable, who has been found to be indulging in criminal acts and was acquitted in three different cases on earlier occasion. Recruited as a constable in Punjab Police in 2006, the cop was at present deployed as a Sentry Guard at 1st IRB near 21 No Overbridge, Patiala.
Gupta said that the police initiated action after the state’s Expenditure secretary and Mining director Vijay N Zade informed that he had been getting calls from a person claiming that he was speaking from the CM’s residence. “When it was checked, it was found that no such person was on duty in CM’s residence or office. However, The Truecaller showed that the call had emanated from ‘CM house Chd’,” he added.
MODUS OPERANDI
An MBA, the suspect used to call various government officials, and often introduced himself as Kuldeep Singh, PA to CM Punjab. He was making creative use of technology to shield his original identity, said the DGP, adding that the cop was apparently manipulating the Truecaller app to identify himself as someone from CM office Chandigarh, SSP Chandigarh, Muktsar Deputy Commissioner, among others. Eight mobile phones of various companies like Lava, Samsung, Nokia, Oppo, Panasonic, along with 12 SIM cards, have been recovered from the constable’s possession, along with an Innova car, copies of Aadhar, voter cards and marksheets of other individuals, etc.
The Innova car (white colour) with Registration no. PB 11 AB 0108 had a Flag Rod and VIP stickers pasted on the front glass, said the DGP. Among the seizures from the accused, a resident of House No 132 A, Street No. 3, Sarabha Nagar Bhadson Road, Patiala, were two Aadhar cards (in the names of Kamlesh Chaudhary and Jagtar Singh), Voter ID card of Jagtar Singh, Photo copy of Aadhar Card of Satnam Singh, Class X and XII marksheet of Satnam Singh.
OFFICERS ON HIS HIT-LIST
During preliminary investigations, Manjinder Singh has disclosed that he had been calling up various officers by posing as Kuldeep Singh, PA to CM Punjab.
“A few among them are DSP Malerkotla Sumit Sood, Mining Officer Ropar Manjeet Kaur Dhillon, Superintendent PRTC Faridkot Sita Ram, Naka In-charge near Nandpur Keshon Patiala- Sirhind Road, PP Fagan Majra,” said the DGP. A criminal case has been registered against him for cheating, forgery, and other offences under sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 66-D of Information Technology (IT) Act at Police Station Tripuri, Patiala, said Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police Vikram Jeet Duggal. Further investigations are on and more revelations are expected, including the names of various victims whom he had duped and the amount he collected from them, DGP added.
ALREADY FACING THREE CASES
The accused constable is facing three separate cases for cheating, wrongful confinement, theft, causing damage, besides other offences. The three FIRs were registred on August 21, 2012 (under sections 420, 511 of IPC); on July 2, 2009 (under sections 323, 341, 506, 427, 34 of IPC); and on November 14, 2014 (under sections 379, 427, 411 of IPC) — all in Patiala.