The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested three individuals for allegedly posing as IAS officers and defrauding vendors of over Rs3.5 crore through fake government tenders under the name of the Rashtriya Gramin Saksharta Mission (RGSM) — a fictitious central scheme.
The accused have been identified as Ratnakar (40), Anita Upadhyay (35), and Saurabh Singh (30). According to Additional Commissioner of Police Amrutha Guguloth, the trio created a fake trust and website resembling a government entity and issued forged tender documents using fake RGSM letterheads falsely branded as a “Government of India undertaking.”
The group gained the trust of vendors by impersonating senior IAS officials, offering them tenders for supplying uniforms for underprivileged children. Once the goods were delivered, the accused not only defaulted on payments but also extorted commissions, earnest money, and stamp duty from the victims.
One vendor reportedly lost uniforms worth several crores and also paid Rs2 crore as commission under the impression of receiving government contracts. Another complainant filed an FIR after being cheated of Rs1.5 crore, which led to the bust of the racket.
The first arrests—Ratnakar and Anita—were made in July, while Saurabh, a key player who managed the trust’s operations, was arrested on September 15 from Lucknow following raids in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Police recovered:
45,000 school uniforms worth Rs1.5 crore
Rs2.79 lakh in cash
Gold jewellery (chain and ring)
A car bought with crime proceeds
Two flats, now marked for attachment
