Police in Gujarat&rsquo;s Banaskantha district have exposed a racket where a man was posing as an IPS officer on social media to cheat people.
The accused created several fake accounts using the name and photograph of Banaskantha Superintendent of Police (SP) Akshayraj Makwana and allegedly extorted money from unsuspecting victims.
The fraud came to light when the impostor&rsquo;s account ended up interacting with the real SP, leading to the exposure of the racket. According to officials, the accused sent friend requests to people by posing as SP Makwana and lured them with offers of cheap furniture and other items. Once trust was gained, he demanded money.
Several people are believed to have been duped. Following the incident, SP Makwana appealed to citizens to stay alert against such fake accounts, clarifying that no government or police officer ever seeks money through social media. Police have urged citizens not to make financial transactions without verifying such messages.
The accused has been arrested, and further investigation is underway. Authorities have advised social media users to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity to the cybercrime cell.
Banaskantha is not alone in witnessing such scams. Gujarat has become a hotspot for impersonation cases. In Ahmedabad, two youths were caught posing as Special Operations Group (SOG) Head Constables with forged ID cards, while another individual was arrested for preparing the fake IDs.
In Mehsana, three women were detained after one pretended to be a GST officer and tried to extort Rs 5 lakh from a shopkeeper. Another case involved four men carrying fake Ashoka Pillar ID cards and posing as members of a non-existent central agency called the &ldquo;National Crime Investigation Commission.&rdquo; They were arrested while attempting to enter the SP&rsquo;s office.
In Amreli, the Local Crime Branch detained a man dressed as a police officer, though no fraud was confirmed. Meanwhile, Junagadh police exposed a major job scam where a man impersonating a Deputy Superintendent of Police collected more than Rs 2.11 crore from 17 victims by promising them government jobs.
Overall, Gujarat has seen more than 19 cases of impersonation in the past two years, with fraudsters posing as customs officials, collectors, CID, ED, NIA, and other agencies. [Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Benefit News editorial team and is published directly from the IANS news feed]

Fake IPS officer racket busted in Gujarat

Banaskantha police expose fake IPS officer scam; several impersonation frauds reported

Fake IPS officer racket busted in Gujarat

Banaskantha police expose fake IPS officer scam; several impersonation frauds reported

August 21, 2025 | 19:55 IST