Kalpana Bhagwat lived in a luxury hotel for nearly six months using a tampered Aadhaar card
The police found AI Generated images with big personalities and foreign transactions from Pakistan and Afghanistan
ATS and IB are probing the case to find links to fraud, impersonation and even Delhi Blast case.
A 45-year-old woman who posed as an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and lived for nearly six months in a luxury hotel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was arrested in November 2025. Police found forged identity documents, suspicious foreign transactions, and possible links to individuals in Pakistan and Afghanistan during the investigation. The woman, identified as Kalpana Trimbakrao Bhagwat, had been staying at a 5-star hotel using a tampered Aadhaar card and a fabricated IAS appointment letter from the 2017 Civil Services Examination. Her arrest followed a tip-off from hotel staff, who reported her unusual behaviour and refusal to allow entry to housekeeping personnel.
A police search of her hotel room revealed a forged IAS appointment order that listed her name at rank 333, along with a mobile phone and other documents. Investigators later found that she had been receiving substantial sums of money from sources based in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other countries. Authorities are now examining whether the transactions were connected to fraud or had more serious motives. Her devices also contained passport and visa photographs and contact numbers saved under suspicious names such as “Peshawar Cantonment Board,” “Afghan Embassy,” and “Zardari Sir’s Wife.”
As the investigation expanded, police arrested two men linked to her—Afghan national Mohammad Ashraf Khil, believed to be her boyfriend, and Dimpy Harjai, who allegedly impersonated an Officer on Special Duty to the Union Home Minister. The two were tracked down in Delhi and remanded to police custody after being brought to Sambhajinagar. Police believe they assisted her in maintaining her fake bureaucratic identity and gaining access to influential circles. Authorities are reviewing call records, digital communication, and CCTV footage from the several cities the trio travelled through.
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During questioning, investigators discovered that Bhagwat used AI-generated photographs showing herself with the President of India and the Home Minister to convince people she held a high-ranking government post. Officers also recovered a certificate naming her the “Best IAS Officer,” purportedly issued by a former Pune University Vice-Chancellor, which is now under verification.
Police say Bhagwat’s six-month hotel stay was financed through her mother’s pension account and other unverified sources. They also recovered boarding passes showing her extensive travel across Indian cities and a trip to Afghanistan. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) are now probing whether she had any role or connection related to the November 10 Delhi car blast case, after investigators found photographs of individuals believed to be linked to the incident on her phone.
Bhagwat has been described as evasive during interrogation. She currently remains in custody as multiple agencies investigate the origins of her forged documents, the purpose behind the foreign financial transfers, her connections with international contacts, and whether she operated alone or as part of a wider syndicate.
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