A man claiming to be a trainee IPS officer secured help from Bihar Police and used a police team to check vehicles on NH-139 in Palamu. The checks and questioning continued until he attempted to take two young men into custody. The pair then reached a relative by phone, exposing the alleged impostor and prompting him to leave them by the roadside and flee.
A call to the police station's official mobile
The episode began with a call to the Nagar police station's government mobile number. The caller introduced himself as a trainee IPS officer and requested police personnel for a raid. At the time, the government mobile was with the officer in charge, Prashant Kumar. Police personnel accepted his claim and accompanied him, allowing the caller to leave with an official team behind him. His request was specific: he said personnel were needed for a raid, and the team joined him on the strength of that introduction.
Vehicles inspected on NH-139
The man took the team directly to NH-139. Vehicles were inspected there, and people encountered along the road were questioned. He allegedly relied on his claim of being an officer to keep the police team under his influence. During the operation, he took two young men into custody while police personnel remained with him and continued the checks at his direction. The arrangement meant that motorists and others on the highway encountered an official police presence, even though the man making the central claims was not acting as a verified officer.
A relative in Jharkhand Police changes the course
The two detained youths managed to call a relative. The relative is a daroga with Jharkhand Police. After the matter was discussed with a police officer, the alleged fake IPS officer became suspicious. He put both young men down by the roadside and fled the scene.
Two arrests and recovery of the Scorpio
Police later arrested two people, including the alleged fake IPS officer's driver, after investigating the incident. One was identified as Pintu Kumar, a resident of Daltonganj in Palamu district. The other was Kundan Kumar, son of Vijay Prasad Jaiswal, from Shahpur Mohalla in the Chainpur police station area. Police also recovered the Scorpio used throughout the incident.
Search for the main accused expands
Nagar police station chief Baban Baitha said the full case is under investigation. Police teams are carrying out searches at various possible locations across Jharkhand for the main accused. Investigators are also examining whether he had previously misled police elsewhere by claiming to be an IPS officer. The inquiry therefore has two immediate focuses: finding the fugitive and establishing whether similar conduct occurred before. Teams are pursuing both lines of inquiry.
Questions still driving the inquiry
The arrests give police two people to question, while the recovered Scorpio supplies the vehicle connected with the incident. Police are also examining how the official team was obtained and then used for the highway checks. The main accused is still being sought, and no earlier case has been identified at this stage. Until the searches and checks into earlier conduct are complete, the full extent of the deception remains part of the ongoing inquiry.
