Man gets 4-yr jail for duping people

The Court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Amrinder Singh Shergill has sentenced 72-year-old Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Omaxe Flats, Pakhowal road, here, to four years of imprisonment on charges of impersonation and fraud. A fine of Rs 57,000 was also imposed upon him.

According to prosecution, the accused posed as a retired director of the Health Department, New Delhi, and defrauded the public by offering to resolve legal and bureaucratic issues through connections with high-ranking officials and politicians.

The then Inspector Gurpreet Singh, SHO at the Sadar police station, here, led the investigation following a tip-off that the accused posed as a high-ranking health official to pressure local officials into fulfilling his requests. The impersonation scheme enabled him to exploit the public and local officials over an extended period, misappropriating large amounts of money.

Investigators found that the accused contacted IAS and IPS officers, falsely identifying himself as their acquaintance or relative and used this approach to manipulate others. Allegations included a claim that Singh extracted Rs 5 lakh from a resident, Samar Gulati, promising help in a domestic dispute. In another instance, he reportedly took Rs 40 lakh from Lakhwinder Singh, claiming he would leverage his contacts to have a criminal case cancelled.

During his arrest on August 6, 2022, three mobile phones were recovered, which reportedly contained incriminating call records. The phones were sent to the cyber cell and technical team in Mohali for forensic examination after evidence suggested accused attempted to delete call records related to the alleged frauds.

The defence counsel argued that the accused, an aged, ailing individual on insulin, was falsely implicated. His counsel contended that Bhupinder, a GAMS graduate in Ayurveda, had committed no criminal offence.