Dehradun police have arrested a man from Amritsar, identified as Gaurav Kumar for allegedly impersonating the private secretary of Rahul Gandhi and defrauding Congress leaders across multiple states. The accused is alleged to have collected large sums of money from party members by promising them election tickets or positions within the Congress party. The arrest followed a complaint filed by a senior Congress leader in Uttarakhand.
According to The Indian Express, the accused used the alias “Kanishk Singh,” claiming to be Rahul Gandhi’s private secretary, and contacted several Congress leaders nationwide. He allegedly demanded money in exchange for securing party positions, with one complainant stating she was defrauded of ₹25 lakh after being promised a significant role in Uttarakhand.
Police investigations revealed that the accused used online resources to gather detailed information about senior Congress leaders and their associates. Further inquiry showed that he created a Truecaller ID in the name of Kanishk Singh, who had served as Rahul Gandhi’s personal secretary from 2003 to 2015, to lend credibility to his claims.
During the investigation, it was found that the accused had orchestrated similar frauds in several states, including Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Bihar. Police surveillance and analysis of CCTV footage led to his identification and subsequent arrest while he was attempting to collect money from another party functionary in Dehradun.
In a statement, the complainant described the methods used by the accused: “To convince me, they made me listen to people on speakerphone, claiming they were Harish Rawat, Harak Singh, Yashpal Arya, and Ganesh Godiyal (senior office-bearers). They said that around 12 MLAs were staying in a five-star hotel in Dehradun, and they had been serving them for 10 days across various assemblies. They claimed that the cost of their stay was Rs 22,50,000 and asked me to give Rs 25,00,000.”
Police stated that the accused had previously collected ₹1.90 crore and ₹12 lakh from two leaders in Jaipur in 2017, and ₹3 lakh from a political worker in Patna in 2025, all under the pretext of securing party tickets or positions. Evidence gathered included mobile surveillance and informant testimony, which corroborated the pattern of fraud across multiple states.
“In a similar manner, they have committed fraud in several states, including Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and others. I request you to expose such gangs so that others are not cheated in the same way,” the complainant stated in her police report.
The accused has been booked under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police confirmed that further investigations are ongoing to identify additional victims and any possible accomplices involved in the fraudulent activities.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.