Man impersonates IPS officer to harass women, arrested and booked for molestation

A 38-year-old man, who allegedly posed as an IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh and harassed women by making phone calls and offering fake government jobs, was arrested from a Gurgaon village on various charges including stalking and molestation, Delhi police said Sunday.

Gauri Shankar, a resident of Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested from Mullaheri village, they said. He has also been booked for having an intent to outrage the modesty of a woman.

Explaining the modes operandi, police said Shankar used to introduce himself as an IPS officer during phone calls to women and lured them with fake government job offers. One acquainted, he used send obscene content and messages to them on WhatsApp.

The matter first came to light on Nov 25, after a woman from South Delhi's Kotla Mubarakpur area reported to police that a man has been harassing her for a month by sending obscene messages and porn videos. He also frequently called and abused her, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur.

When police called the phone number, the person on the other end introduced himself as an IPS officer, the DCP said.

During surveillance, it was found that the man had procured the number on a fake ID or was using somebody else's number as the real owner was traced to Anand district in Gujarat, the DCP said.

Most of the call recipients were from UP and Haryana and they said they were being harassed by the caller, the police officer said.

After his arrest, Shankar told police that he had mobile phone numbers of several people unknown to him as he used to sell SIM cards in Kushinagar.

He he had to shut his shop down after he had an accident about four years ago. He then started working in Delhi as a security guard and started making calls to women and posed as a senior police officer from UP, the DCP said.

Shankar was previously involved in a 2010 case of rioting in Kushinagar.

He is married and has two children.

Police said they are trying to contact other women possibly harassed by Shankar.