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Chandigarh: Fake army major who fooled cops, duped lakhs, finally in police net
Ganesh Bhatt, a native of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, now residing in Panchkula, exploited his closeness with a CIA inspector. Borrowing the inspector’s government vehicle, driver, and even a gunman, he roamed around the city projecting the stature of a decorated officer. He regularly sat in the crime branch office alongside the inspector, who allegedly introduced him to colleagues as his “cousin.”
For nearly two years, a conman managed to live a double life in Chandigarh, posing as an Army Major, strutting inside police offices, and even drawing salutes from unsuspecting policemen. The charade finally ended when the crime branch arrested the accused, identified as Ganesh Bhatt, a native of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, now residing in Panchkula.
Bhatt’s audacity lay in exploiting his closeness with a CIA inspector. Borrowing the inspector’s government vehicle, driver, and even a gunman, he roamed around the city projecting the stature of a decorated officer. He regularly sat in the crime branch office alongside the inspector, who allegedly introduced him to colleagues as his “cousin.”
Behind this facade, Bhatt allegedly cheated people on the promise of securing jobs and other favours. Among his victims was a woman constable, posted at the Sector 11 police station, from whom he took ₹5 lakh and a gold ring after promising to marry her.
The cover was blown when SP (crime) Jasbir Singh grew suspicious and ordered an internal inquiry. Inputs from intelligence agencies soon confirmed that Bhatt was never part of the Army. A “secret FIR” was lodged, and his arrest followed.
A serial conman since 2018
Police investigations revealed that Bhatt has been duping people for years, siphoning off over ₹50-60 lakh since 2018. This isn’t the first time he has been caught.
In 2023, Bhatt, under the alias Major Dinesh Dahiya, posed as a Haryana native and lured defence aspirants with promises of recruitment into the armed forces as Agniveers. He charged each candidate around ₹5 lakh. Backed by a small group of accomplices, he even conducted formal “selection meetings” dressed in Army uniform to cement his fake identity. The Army Intelligence had laid a trap and arrested him in 2023.
In 2021 too, he was arrested for trying to gain entry into Chandimandir cantonment in Panchkula while impersonating an Army Major. At the time, police recovered uniforms and Army boots from his possession.
To cover his tracks, Bhatt never maintained a bank account in his own name and used accounts of associates to receive money. He also clicked photographs with senior political leaders and even introduced himself as a Major to a former director general of police (DGP) of Chandigarh to strengthen his cover.
Despite repeated arrests, Bhatt continued to reinvent himself and prey on unsuspecting victims. “He has a long history of deception. We are digging deeper into his network and past cases,” a police source said.
