Fake IAS Officer Held in Maharashtra; Probe Reveals Pakistan, Afghanistan Links
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 27th November 2025: A woman posing as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer has been arrested by Cidco Police on charges of impersonation, cheating, and suspected links with individuals in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The accused, identified as Kalpana Trimbakrao Bhagwat (45), a resident of Padegaon, has been remanded in police custody after investigators found evidence of suspicious international contacts and cheques amounting to more than ₹19 crore.
Arrest at City Hotel
Police received a tip-off on November 22 and conducted a raid at Hotel Ambassador, where Bhagwat had been staying in Room 322 for the last six months. Officers recovered a forged IAS appointment letter claiming she had been selected through the 2017 Civil Services Examination. A tampered Aadhaar card and a mobile phone were seized.
Probe Reveals Foreign Links
According to the remand report submitted by Assistant Police Inspector Yogesh S. Gaikwad, the accused was in contact with an Afghan national, Mohammad Ashraf Khil, reportedly living in Delhi, and his brother Ahmed Yama Galib, who is believed to be residing in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Police suspect a personal angle after recovering deleted WhatsApp conversations between Bhagwat and Galib. Screenshots of visa applications and passport copies related to these contacts were also found. Her phone had 11 Pakistani numbers stored with identifiers such as “Afghan Embassy,” “Zardari Sir Wife,” and “Peshawar Cantonment Board,” raising concerns about possible anti-national activities.
Crore-Value Cheques Seized
Investigators also found several high-value cheques during a search of her residence:
* One cheque worth ₹19 crore drawn on Bank of India
* Another valued at ₹6 lakh issued by Cosmos Bank
Police said the money trail shows about ₹32.68 lakh was deposited into her Bank of Maharashtra account between January 1 and November 21 this year. Bhagwat allegedly duped people by promising government favours, claiming to be posted as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Home Ministry. She reportedly used a contact saved as “Abhishek Chaudhary” — which appeared as “Ministry of Home Affairs” on Truecaller — to convince victims, though investigations show she herself initiated calls to that number.
Further Investigation On
Police have invoked charges under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 339 and 214 related to cheating, forgery, and impersonation.
Investigators have sought an extension of police custody for 10 days, citing the need to retrieve deleted digital data, verify the source of the funds, and examine her links with foreign-based individuals.
