A con couple who posed as high-ranking government officials to swindle innocent citizens has been arrested by the police in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh. Operating under fabricated identities, the husband and wife cheated locals of approximately Rs 27 lakh by promising to deliver gold from government auctions at heavily discounted rates and offering currency exchange services for damaged banknotes. Investigations reveal that the duo had been running similar fraudulent operations across multiple states for nearly two decades.
Rented Accommodation Used as Front for Impersonation
The arrested individuals have been identified as Rohit Bajpai, a native of Kannauj, and his wife Annu Bajpai alias Chandra, originally from Chitwan in Nepal. The couple had recently rented a residential property in the Prem Nagar neighbourhood of Sitapur city. To establish social standing and gain the confidence of residents, they introduced themselves as established government officers, successfully misleading neighbors into believing their fabricated professional authority.
Landlord and Local Residents Targeted for Lakhs
Sharing operational details, Sitapur Superintendent of Police Ankur Agarwal stated that the accused directed their primary scheme at their landlord, Ramnaresh Jaiswal. Enticing him with an offer to secure auction-route gold at steep discounts, they collected Rs 20 lakh from him alone. Additionally, they took Rs 2 lakh under the pretext of exchanging soiled or damaged currency notes, extracted Rs 1 lakh from another local resident, and took Rs 4 lakh from an area laundry operator, bringing the aggregate fraud amount to Rs 27 lakh.
Interstate Flight Across Four States
Having gathered the funds, the couple disappeared from their rented residence on September 14. To evade tracking, they moved through several cities across state borders, taking refuge in Agra, Kota, Betul, and Chennai. Police findings indicate that out of the defrauded cash, the pair had already spent around Rs 6 lakh to purchase gold jewellery and two mobile handsets to conceal the illicit proceeds.
Seizure of Cash, Gold, and Forged Credentials
Law enforcement authorities tracked down and apprehended the absconding couple on Wednesday. Police recovered Rs 14 lakh in hard cash, approximately 38.740 grams of gold ornaments, and four mobile phones from their possession. Officials also confiscated multiple counterfeit identification cards bearing names of Punjab National Bank, the Income Tax Department, Aadhaar, and PAN cards, which the accused routinely displayed to project legitimate bureaucratic authority.
Active Fraud History Dating Back to 2005
During interrogation and record verification, police uncovered that the duo had allegedly been involved in comparable financial frauds since 2005. Aside from cases in Uttar Pradesh, the couple faces active police cases across Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Bihar. Investigative teams are currently gathering comprehensive records on their broader interstate network and identifying additional victims connected to their schemes.
