In a shocking incident that highlights the audacity of cybercriminals targeting civil service aspirants, a young man from Bihar traveled all the way to the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie with his parents, believing he was about to begin training as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, only to discover he had been cruelly deceived.
The Elaborate Cyber Fraud
Pushpesh Singh, a 28-year-old resident of Saran district in Bihar, was working for a private company in Gurgaon when he was contacted by unknown individuals posing as officials from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The fraudsters conducted a fake online examination, after which they declared him selected. To solidify the illusion, they sent him a forged merit list and a detailed training schedule via WhatsApp.
Convinced by the authenticity of the documents, which bore official-looking stamps and rank listings, Pushpesh paid Rs 30,000 to the accused. Filled with hope and pride, he then embarked on the journey to Mussoorie in Uttarakhand with his family to report for what he believed was the start of his IAS career at LBSNAA.
The Dream Shattered at the Gates
The reality check came at the entrance of the elite academy. Alert LBSNAA officials, upon examining his documents, immediately spotted discrepancies. They stopped Pushpesh and promptly alerted the Mussoorie police. A police team arrived at the spot and, after verifying the documents and questioning the aspiring officer, confirmed that he had fallen prey to an elaborate online scam.
"The documents appeared genuine at first glance, with official stamps and rank listings. Since the fraud occurred while he was in Gurgaon, we registered a zero FIR under BNS section 318(4) for cheating at the Mussoorie police station," said Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajai Singh. The case has since been transferred to the Gurgaon police for further investigation.
A Pattern of Preying on Aspirants
This case is not an isolated one but fits a disturbing pattern of cybercrimes aimed at ambitious youth, particularly those from smaller towns dreaming of a career in civil services. In May 2023, Jharkhand police had uncovered a similar racket that was offering fake Indian Police Service (IPS) postings for a sum of Rs 2 lakh.
An officer involved in the inquiry noted the sophistication of the fraud, stating, "Pushpesh holds a degree and had no doubts about the documents. He had no reason to suspect anything was wrong until he was turned away at the gate." The local intelligence unit and the Intelligence Bureau were also informed about this security breach and the modus operandi of the criminals.
The incident serves as a stark warning to millions of competitive exam aspirants across India to exercise extreme caution and to verify all communication directly through the official UPSC channels, highlighting the growing menace of cyber fraud in the education and recruitment sector.
