New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Wednesday raided an accused claiming to be an educator running a coaching institute for civil services in Delhi for posing as a senior ED officer and cheating a former officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of Rs 5,000, ThePrint has learnt.
The agency said Thursday that the accused, identified as Manoj Kumar, claimed to be a 2017 batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), who is serving as an additional director in the agency. An assistant director is a high-ranking position in the federal probe agency, falling after the director and special director-level posts in the hierarchy.
The probe agency also found that Kumar was running a website of a coaching institute named after him that never existed. “Details, such as if there ever was any such coaching institute under the name given on the website, are under investigation,” an ED source said.
The ED’s probe against Kumar stems from an FIR filed by Delhi Police Sunday based on a complaint from a former inspector-rank officer of the NIA, alleging that Kumar had cheated him on the pretext of helping him during his time of crisis.
Sources in Delhi Police told ThePrint that the FIR had been registered under offences such as cheating and impersonation under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).
“The complainant, a former NIA inspector, registered a complaint at Chanakyapuri Police station based on which an FIR has been registered. The complainant officer claimed he sought Rs 5,000 from him claiming to be a senior ED officer,” a Delhi Police official said.
Sources in the ED said that taking cognisance of the FIR filed by Delhi Police, a money laundering probe had been initiated. The agency further said that Kumar was using letterhead with the logo and stamp of the agency as proof of his credentials as an ED officer.
During the raid Sunday, the agency said officers had recovered fake ID cards and other relevant documents from the ED and other government departments that he was using to cheat people under the guise of being an ED officer.
“ED initiated investigations on the basis of FIR registered by Delhi Police against one Manoj Kumar alleging that the accused Manoj Kumar impersonated himself as an IRS officer of the 2017 Batch and claimed that he is presently posted as additional director in ED. It is further alleged that he would show letters of ED with the ED logo and ED Stamp/seal with his name, so, as to convince people that he is genuinely an ED officer. Thereafter, he would ask money from such people and cheat them,” the ED said in a statement Thursday.
“ED investigations revealed that he has been representing himself as an officer of ED and other government departments. During the search operations, fake ID cards of ED and other government departments were found. Forged documents of ED were also found which were being used by the accused to extort/cheat people,” the agency further said.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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