Kolkata Police arrest man for impersonating CBI counsel

The man claimed to have attended the BRICS summit held at Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2018. He said he was part of an international delegation to Tokyo in 2013, police said

A man, arrested by Kolkata Police for allegedly masquerading as a special counsel of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has claimed during interrogation that he attended the 2018 BRICS summit, police said.

Representational image. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Further interrogation also revealed that the man, Sanatan Ray Chaudhuri, had contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections from Dum Dum constituency as a candidate for Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, but lost.

“The accused claimed to have attended the BRICS summit held at Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2018. He said he was part of an international delegation to Tokyo in 2013...We have got some documents. His statements are being verified,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.

Chaudhuri was arrested on Tuesday while he was allegedly impersonating a standing counsel for the state government as well as the CBI. A receipt for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) membership fee was recovered from him, police said.

He was held by officers of the Gariahat police station for allegedly trying to grab property by using forged documents. An officer said on condition of anonymity that Chaudhuri moved around in a car fitted with blue beacon light.

“We recovered a receipt for BJP membership fee and various kinds of visiting cards in which the accused claimed to be a CBI lawyer as well as a national executive member of the BJP’s human rights cell. A city court remanded him to police custody till July 16,” the officer said.

Police also found a picture of the accused posing with actor-turned-BJP leader, Rudranil Ghosh. “As far as I recollect, he came to meet me at least five years ago with some friends and took a picture. He told me he was a lawyer. Many persons come as fans and meet like that. If he is found guilty, he should be punished,” said Ghosh.

Chaudhuri’s arrest came days after the detective department of the Kolkata Police arrested Debanjan Deb, who posed as an Indian Administrative Service officer working for the Kolkata civic body and ran a Covid vaccination racket.

Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh said, “Millions of people become BJP members by paying fees or by calling up the toll-free number. It is not possible to keep track of everyone. The guilty have to be punished. It is the government’s job to detect imposters.”