Man held for posing as OSD to HM Shah, pressurising senior cops

A man posing as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Union Home Minister who was allegedly threatening and pressurising senior police officers to help his acquaintances gain ownership of a disputed property in Brijpuri area here has been arrested.

 Police said 43-year-old Navin Kumar Singh has other cheating cases against him, including for duping people to get them Rajya Sabha seats and jobs at ONGC, for which he has been in jail.  Singh, who is currently out on bail in these cases, was apprehended from Noida on Tuesday, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Rakesh Paweriya said sub-inspector Ravi Poonia, currently posted at Dayalpur police station, received a PCR call on October 8 regarding trespassing at a Brijpuri plot. "As the team reached the site, two men Sanjay Kumar and Tohid Malik claimed ownership of the property. Tohid requested time to provide ownership documents but failed to submit it," Paweriya said.

 The officer said Singh, claiming to be the OSD to the Union Home Minister and an acquaintance of Tohid, called the SI multiple times, threatening him with dire consequences if the possession of the property was not handed over to them.

 Singh made similar calls to the assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of Gokalpuri, and threatened the staff of Dayalpur police station.

 "Dayalpur SHO asked them to provide ownership documents but they left saying that the 'DCP' would direct them to hand over the possession," Paweriya said.  Following a detailed inquiry, police found out that Singh was posing as the OSD, the DCP said. An FIR was registered against the accused under various sections of the BNS and police launched an investigation into the case, he said.

 A police team conducted a raid in Sector 51, Noida and apprehended Singh. Police recovered his mobile phone and SIM card that he used to impersonate a home ministry official, DCP Paweriya added.

During interrogation, Singh revealed that he initially duped people by claiming to get them jobs at Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the officer said. He also cheated people by promising to make them members of the Rajya Sabha and government boards, Paweriya said.

 The DCP said around 10-15 days ago, Tohid and two other men approached him to help them gain ownership of a plot in Brijpuri. Singh, then, made phone calls to senior police officers pretending to be the OSD of the Home Minister, he said.

 The DCP said there are four cheating cases registered against him.