INDORE: Police have arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly posing as an IAS officer and walking out of a five-star hotel in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore without paying a bill for a party hosted by him, officials said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Himanshu Panchal, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, had also allegedly installed a fake nameplate outside his rented house identifying him as a “District Collector”, Assistant Commissioner of Police Parag Saini said.
According to police, Panchal recently organised a party for 16 people at a five-star hotel in Indore. When the time came to settle the bill, he allegedly claimed that he was an IAS officer and left the hotel without making the payment.
He told the hotel staff that his personal assistant would pay the bill within two hours, Saini said.
After receiving a complaint, police visited Panchal’s rented residence in the Lasudia police station area. They found a nameplate outside the house carrying the name “IAS Raj Soni” and the designation “District Collector”, the ACP said.
During questioning, Panchal was unable to produce any document supporting his claim of being an IAS officer, Saini said.
Police arrested him on Wednesday and registered a case under Section 204 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with personating a public servant.
Police also found that a cheating case was already registered against Panchal in Gujarat. A detailed investigation into the matter is underway, Saini said.