Posed as Bank Manager and IT Officer to Swindle Over ₹50 Crore Nationwide
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In a stunning breakthrough that brought an end to a protracted multi-state manhunt, the Sitapur Police in Uttar Pradesh have apprehended a notorious husband-and-wife fraud duo accused of swindling upwards of ₹50 crore from unsuspecting citizens across the country. Operating under elaborate professional disguises, the master tricksters—who had remarkably dropped out of formal schooling after failing the 5th and 6th grades—effortlessly lured victims by speaking fluent, polished English and flashing forged credentials. Despite active pursuit by specialized police teams across six states, the fugitives managed to evade capture for months before their illicit run came to an abrupt halt following coordinated intelligence operations in Sitapur.
The Modus Operandi: Fluent English, Fake Identity Badges, and Gold Auction Scams
The investigation conducted by the Sitapur district police revealed an astonishing level of deception orchestrated by the uneducated couple:
High-Profile Deceptions: The primary accused, identified as Rohit Bajpayee, a native of Bhagwan Makarand Nagar in Kannauj, masqueraded as the branch manager of Punjab National Bank (PNB) in Misrikh. His wife, Annu Bajpayee alias Chandra, originally hailing from Chitwan Bharatpur in Nepal, presented herself as an authoritative Income Tax officer.
Language as a Psychological Trap: Despite their lack of formal schooling, the duo mastered conversational English, sophisticated corporate terminology, and bureaucratic body language, leaving victims convinced they were dealing with elite central government and banking executives.
The Discounted Gold Coin Trap: In Sitapur alone, the couple extorted ₹27 lakh from three local residents by promising them heavily discounted, seized gold coins purportedly up for auction through bank reserves, while also offering illicit commissions to exchange old and mutilated currency notes.
Formal Complaints and On-Ground Arrest: Cash, Jewels, and Counterfeit IDs Seized
According to Superintendent of Police (SP) Ankur Agrawal, the breakthrough followed three specific FIRs registered at the Sitapur City Police Station:
Victims Step Forward: On September 14, local landlord Ramnaresh Jaiswal—in whose Premnagar house the couple lived as tenants—filed a complaint after being defrauded of ₹22 lakh. Concurrently, a local laundry operator named Atul reported losing ₹4 lakh, and a resident named Premlata Bajpai lodged an FIR for a ₹1 lakh fraud.
Coordinated Interception: Tracking mobile location trails and local tip-offs, a police team ambushed and arrested both Rohit Bajpayee and Annu Bajpayee on Tuesday.
Substantial Evidence Recovered: During personal searches and subsequent seizures, police recovered ₹14 lakh in hard cash, gold and diamond jewelry valued at approximately ₹6 lakh, along with multiple counterfeit identity cards bearing bank manager and Income Tax officer seals.
A Trail of Crime Across 5 States: 10 Active FIRs and Railway Impersonations
Interrogation reports and criminal database cross-referencing indicate that the duo's operational network stretched far beyond Uttar Pradesh:
Pan-India Footprint: At least 10 formal criminal cases are registered against the couple across five Indian states, including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.
Widespread Regional FIRs: Within Uttar Pradesh, besides Sitapur, warrants and cases remain pending against the pair in Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Jhansi, and Kushinagar.
Prior Railway Fraud in Jhansi: Police Circle Officer (CO) records revealed that Rohit had previously posed as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) in Jhansi, extorting large sums from train passengers under the guise of seat allocations and penalty regularizations, for which he was earlier booked by the Government Railway Police (GRP).
Multi-Agency Transit Remands: With the kingpins now behind bars in Sitapur, investigative agencies and police departments from the remaining five states are preparing transit remand applications to question the couple regarding tens of crores in untraced illicit transactions.
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