This Fake IAS Officer from UP Rode in a Mercedes-Benz and Defender, Leading a Lavish Life While Also Living a Double Life as a Regular Employee

Key Points:

A man named Saurabh Tripathi from Uttar Pradesh surpassed his limits to commit fraud by pretending to be an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. Later on, he slipped and fell in his own con. The 38-year-old fake IAS officer, Saurabh Tripathi, conned several people by pretending to be a government official. He was arrested for defrauding people in Lucknow, UP, in September 2025.

This fake IAS officer got inside official meetings and restricted offices without having a civil service rank. For people in UP, Tripathi was a special secretary in the state government, whereas for people outside the state territory, he posed as a secretary in the central government.

Tripathi got the onlookers into thinking that he was indeed what he was faking to be by presenting himself as a high-end government official. According to reports, he drove multiple super-luxurious vehicles. Among the luxury vehicles Tripathi lived with, he had choices to pick from on a day-to-day basis.

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The police seized all his luxurious vehicles, including a Range Rover Defender, Mercedes-Benz, three Innova, and a Toyota Fortuner. All the vehicles had beacons fitted on them, along with fake number plates and secretariat passes.

One of the passes asserted that Tripathi was a joint secretary for the Government of India. He also carried National Informatics Centre (NIC) email IDs. A bag was found during the investigation containing 25 forged documents, which revealed the scale at which Tripathi was operating.

During the interrogation process, he revealed that the fancy cars helped him create a powerful image for the onlookers. His act did not go unnoticed, as he attended government programs and even held meetings with senior officials. He even admitted to putting pressure on these government officials during these meetings.

His persona on various social media handles also enabled him to solidify his con. He posted pictures with the Assam governor and the Chief Minister of Goa to create the credibility that he was indeed an IAS officer. An investigator remarked, “He cleverly exploited VIP protocols to appear genuine.” He had social media accounts with the user ID @Saurabh_IAAS on X, LinkedIn, and others.

His con of leading a double life surprised many. Other than posing as an IAS officer and defrauding people into thinking that he was a high-level government worker, Tripathi also lived a regular life—a life where he was employed as a project manager at ABM Knowledgeware Ltd.

According to the police, Tripathi worked on the Double Entry Accounting System project at the UP Directorate of Local Bodies. His family, including his wife and children, were shielded from the double life Tripathi was leading without raising any suspicion.

The walls came crashing down for UP’s fake IAS officer, Saurabh Tripathi, when his fraud finally caught up with him. The Wazirabad police station in charge, Rajesh Kumar, stated that the fraudster was caught during a vehicle check near Kargil Shaheed Park. He allegedly attempted to continue his IAS act and gave threats that he would complain to the Chief Minister. 

His vague threats raised further suspicion about whether the position he claimed to hold was credible or not. He was immediately taken to the police station, where his white lies were exposed.

His lies about how he was able to defraud many people into believing that he was a government officer were revealed. The police even raided his house in the upscale Shalimar One World complex in Gomti Nagar Extension, where they discovered his lavish lifestyle. His neighbours had never suspected Tripathi of being a fraudster pretending to be an IAS officer. [Rh]

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