Pooja Rani, wife of Hardeep Singh, was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau for posing as a government official and swindling people out of cash.
The accused along with her 4 accomplices ran a scam, disguised as CBI and vigilance officers extorted money from the victims threatening them with a fake case. The Incident came to light when one of the victims reported the fraud.
According to investigators, farmer Palvinder Singh from Bhaini Salu village registered a case under the sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code at Koom Kalan Police Station, Ludhiana.
Based on the complaint the accused were arrested for accepting two cheques for Rs 25 lakh from the victim by threatening to charge him in a fraud case. The complaint stated that he had sold 18 acres of ancestral land and after that, he received a notice about the sale of panchayat land.
Later, on 12th August 2023, three individuals came to his house impersonating officers from the Vigilance Bureau from Sector 17, Chandigarh. To sort the matter, these officers demanded an amount of Rs 50 Lakh and threatened that failing to do so would lead to the registration of a fraud case against him for the sale of panchayat land. Fearing prosecution, Singh ended up giving the accusers two checks totaling Rs 25 lakh. One of the imposters also took off with Rs 27,000 in cash,on top of the cheques, likely to heighten the urgency and ligitimacy
Pooja Rani who allegedly is the ‘mastermind’ behind this whole plan was arrested while riding in a taxi near a toll plaza in Ludhiana. The Vigilance Bureau has also seized two mobile phones and crucial documents that could serve as evidence in their investigation.
This trail further led to the arrest of 4 accomplices involved in the fraud- Manjeet Singh and Paramjeet Singh from Samrala, Parminder Singh from Hoshiarpur, and Pinder Sodhi from Chabbewal. However, Rani’s husband is yet to be arrested.
Further investigation unfolded a web of frauds. Investigators unearthed that Rani and her accomplices used similar tactics in June 2023 where they targeted a vulnerable family residing in Haryana’s Pehowa village. Through threats and intimidations, the gang managed to extort a whooping Rs 52 lakh from the unsuspecting family.
This modus operandi of the accused is very similar to the tactics used in the movie ‘Special 26’ released in 2013, starring Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher as fake CBI officers.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau’s arrest of Pooja Rani and her accomplices serves as a stark reminder that lack of knowledge is the biggest weapon in the arsenal of these scammers. However, the ongoing pursuit of Rani’s husband could further dismantle the depth- of the network and its other major players involved.
While law enforcement agencies play a vital role in apprehending these criminals, public awareness remains the most effective defence against impersonation scams. Future collaboration between the VB and public outreach programs can significantly reduce the number of victims.
