Fraudster Caught In Dehradun; Lured People With Promises Of Congress Party Positions, Assembly Tickets Across Several States

Dehradun: The Rajpur Police Station has arrested the ringleader of an interstate gang of fraudsters accused of swindling senior leaders of a national political party. The accused had defrauded a female public representative by falsely claiming to be the private secretary of a senior office-bearer of the Congress.

The accused used social media platforms to gather information regarding senior leaders associated with various political parties, as well as their associates and close aides. The accused faces allegations of having defrauded leaders associated with political parties in several other states as well, under the pretext of securing them official positions or election tickets. Furthermore, intelligence suggests that the accused was also in contact with several senior leaders associated with the Congress in Uttarakhand.

The case came to light after Bhavna Pandey lodged a complaint at the Rajpur Police Station, alleging that an individual named Kanishk Singh — claiming to be the private secretary of a senior Congress office-bearer — had demanded Rs 25 lakh from her in exchange, for securing her a significant position in the party and assigning her survey-related duties in the state.

On April 13, the individual dispatched an accomplice to the victim's residence — Pinnacle Residency in Jakhan — where the complainant handed over the sum of Rs 25 lakh. Thereafter, Kanishk neither answered her phone calls nor returned her funds. Upon conducting inquiries into the individual's background, it was revealed that he had previously perpetrated similar acts of fraud against prominent political leaders across multiple states.

Based on the written complaint, a case was registered at Rajpur Police Station. Several teams were constituted to apprehend the individuals involved in the scheme. Through analysis of CCTV footage and intelligence gathered from informants, the investigative teams obtained crucial information regarding the prime accused involved in the fraud.

They discovered that the main accused was in contact with several senior leaders of the Congress in Uttarakhand, and was scheduled to visit a mall in the Jakhan area to collect money from a party office-bearer under the pretext of securing them an election ticket. Acting on this intelligence, the police team launched an operation and successfully arrested Kanishk alias Gaurav Kumar.

Rajpur Police Station in-charge P D Bhatt said the accused is originally a resident of Amritsar, Punjab. Through social media, he gathered information regarding senior office-bearers, leaders, and close associates/collaborators affiliated with major political parties. During this process, he obtained information about an individual named Kanishk Singh, who had served as the Private Secretary to a senior office-bearer of the Congress from 2003 to 2015.

He also learned that Kanishk remains a close associate of the office-bearer to this day. Acting on this information, the accused created a Truecaller ID under Kanishk Singh's name. Then, by visiting the website neta.com, he obtained detailed information regarding senior leaders associated with the Congress from across the country.

In collaboration with three accomplices — Chhajju, Rajat Madan, and Maninder Singh Kalu, all residents of Punjab — he orchestrated a series of fraudulent schemes targeting numerous individuals. Posing as the Private Secretary to the Congress office-bearer, he defrauded two leaders in Jaipur, Rajasthan, in 2017, extracting sums of Rs 1.90 crore and Rs 12 lakh, respectively, under the pretext of securing them tickets to contest Assembly elections.

Similarly, in 2025, he defrauded a leader associated with the Congress in Patna, Bihar, by accepting Rs 3 lakh in exchange for promising a position in the party organisation. The accused has reportedly admitted to perpetrating similar frauds in other states as well, extorting substantial sums of money from various individuals associated with political parties. Authorities are currently gathering further details regarding these incidents.