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Sambhajinagar fake IAS case: Two, including Afghan national, held, remanded to custody till December 8
Officials said both IB and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) are questioning Bhagwat’s suspected links with individuals in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia
A special squad of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police on Friday arrested two people, including an Afghan national from Delhi, in connection with the 45-year-old woman held on November 22 for impersonating an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
Kalpana Trimbakrao Bhagwat, 45, a former senior assistant at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), was arrested for allegedly forging identity documents, fabricating an IAS appointment letter, and staying at a star hotel in Sambhajinagar for nearly six months using a tampered Aadhaar card.
The arrested accused have been identified as Bhagwat’s Afghan associate, Mohammad Ashraf Khil, and Dimpy Harjai. Harjai alleged impersonated as Abhishek Chaudhary, an OSD to home minister for cheating and gaining access to influential circles.
Both were produced before a Delhi court and remanded on transit on Friday. They were then brought to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Saturday and produced in court, which sent them to custody till December 8.
The arrests follow an intensified crackdown by the city police, which deployed four special teams to Delhi, Noida, Haryana and Rajasthan to trace key members linked to Bhagwat’s alleged syndicate.
“Harjai was tracked down and arrested in Delhi. A separate team has been formed to probe whether he had ties with other foreign nationals and how he helped Bhagwat sustain her facade as a senior bureaucrat,” an officer from Sambhajinagar police said.
The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has sought detailed information on Bhagwat’s educational records from her school in Vaijapur and her employment and dismissal history from BAMU.
Officials said both IB and the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) are questioning her over suspected links with individuals in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Police have written to telecom companies and internet service providers seeking complete logs of international calls from her devices.
Investigators said Bhagwat remains “highly evasive” during questioning. Police declined to comment on the role of two men, Chetan Bhanushali, who issued a ₹19 crore cheque, and Nikhil Bhakre, who issued a ₹6 lakh cheque, both found in her hotel room.
At the Kranti Chowk lock-up, where she is currently lodged, Bhagwat reportedly insisted on speaking to her mother. The request was denied.
Police said her six-month stay at a hotel was funded through her mother’s pension account and other unexplained sources. Officials believe she targeted several real estate developers in the city while posing as an IAS lobbyist.
Investigators said Bhagwat maintained suspicious foreign contacts and received more than ₹32.6 lakh between January and November 2025 from multiple individuals, raising questions about the source and purpose of the funds.
During searches, police seized forged IAS appointment papers, two cheques worth ₹19 crore and ₹6 lakh, and an alleged endorsement letter purportedly signed by former vice-chancellor S N Pathan. They also recovered her mobile phone, which contained 11 international contacts, including numbers saved as “Peshawar cantonment board”, “Afghan embassy” and “Zardari Sir’s wife”.
Police believe the arrest of Khil and Harjai will significantly aid the probe into whether Bhagwat had foreign-linked activities or financial dealings that pose potential security concerns.
Bhagwat remains in police custody until December 5.
