Delhi fraudsters try to pull off a sporting con in Bangalore

The duo was in Raichur to collect money from youths whom they had promised jobs in central government departments.

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Delhi fraudsters try to pull off a sporting con in Bangalore
The Karnataka Police with the three conmen.

On July 5, the Raichur district administration in Central Karnataka received a letter from Sports Authority of India (SAI), New Delhi, informing them about an official visit of 'SAI deputy director Kabir Hashmi (IAS) and his private secretary Sarvesh Kumar'.

The district administration adhered to the official protocol and ensured the visiting officials received the best treatment as state guests. When the duo reached Raichur by Karnataka Express train on July 7, they were assigned an official car and treated as central government guests at the official state guest house.

The Karnataka Police with the three conmen.

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Kabir Hashmi, however, was not the SAI deputy director neither was he, or his 'private secretary', SAI officials. The two men were, in fact, conmen who tried to fool the Raipur district in-charge deputy commissioner.

The duo visited the local Nehru Yuvaka Kendra under the pretext of an inspection where they even took the Raichur district in-charge Deputy Commissioner, V.V. Jyothsna, to task for lack of basic infrastructure at the Nehru Yuvaka Kendra in Raichur. However, their con was soon busted when they came face to face with the Raichur deputy commissioner.

Deputy Commissioner Vijaya Jyothsna said, "When I asked Kabir Hashmi about his IAS batch, he mentioned a particular year. But his behaviour was suspicious. So, I crosschecked with IAS batchmates of that particular year and found out that he had lied to me. I was told that no one named Kabir Hashmi was in the particular IAS batch he mentioned." "As I tried to dig deep, they became evasive, making the suspicion grow. In the meantime, our office contacted the SAI office in New Delhi and found out that Kabir Hashmi was impersonating an IAS officer. I immediately informed the local police, who took him into custody (on Tuesday)," Jyothsna said.

Raichur district Superintendent of Police M.N. Nagaraj said that the Delhi-based duo was in Raichur to collect money from people they had duped. The duo was in Raichur to collect money from youths whom they had promised jobs in central government departments.

They had enlisted the support of a local accomplice named Ubedulla, who had informed local youths that he had connections with the Sports Authority of India in New Delhi, and that he can get them government jobs.

"The duo came to Raichur posing as SAI officials and collected Rs 15.42 lakh from the youths and Ubedulla. It was a well-oiled racket. The duo have conned people in other states as well," the SP said. However, what is confusing the district administration is how the two conmen managed to get an original letterhead from SAI in New Delhi. "This shows that somebody in the SAI office is hand in glove with this duo. We have informed the authorities concerned in New Delhi about this," the police added.