In a bizarre case of impersonation, an official from the Wadhwan Nagar Palika in Surendranagar district was among three men arrested for posing as CBI officers in an attempted theft. The alleged mastermind, Kapil Trivedi, a resident of Prahlad Nagar, is currently on the run.
The incident began when ad filmmaker Sumit Khanwani was invited to discuss an advertisement project by a person named Saumil at the YMCA International Centre. Trivedi had booked the room under the alias “Gramir Joshi.” During the meeting, Khanwani was confronted by three men claiming to be from the Central Bureau of Investigation, who attempted to frame him by planting a beer bottle and a packet of white powder in his bag, demanding his wallet in the process.
Despite being assaulted, Khanwani managed to record a video of the assailants as they fled the scene. However, when he approached Inspector BK Bharai at the Anandnagar police station to file a complaint, he was initially met with resistance, with the inspector only accepting a simple application. It took four days for the complaint to be formally registered.
Nine days after the incident, police arrested Hitendrasinh Mori and Dhanrajsinh Rathod, both alleged associates of Trivedi. Khanwani expressed frustration with the police’s slow response, claiming that their inaction allowed Trivedi, who lives just 500 meters from the police station, to evade capture.
Khanwani took to social media to identify the suspects, which finally prompted police action. He criticized the lack of investigation at the crime scene and the delay in taking his report seriously.