The Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Saturday nabbed a man on charges of impersonating a police officer and allegedly cheating as many as 21 women across states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh through dating and matrimonial platforms, officials said.

The accused, identified by the crime branch sleuths as Himanshu alias Rocky Panchal, allegedly assumed fake identities by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, edited photographs and counterfeit government documents to gain the trust of the women before extorting money from them. Officials aware of the case said Panchal, a native of Ahmedabad, was in Udaipur at the time of his arrest.

Panchal used AI to assume identity of Sub-inspector

Investigators said that Panchal allegedly posed as a sub-inspector attached to the Gujarat police’s cyber-crime wing on numerous matrimonial platforms such as Jeevansathi, Shaadi.com and dating apps like Bumble and Hinge. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bharat Patel said he used AI-generated images to show himself in police uniform, so that his identity appeared credible.

Officials went on to say that the accused allegedly created fake appointment letters, fake suspension notices and fabricated government identity cards using digital editing and design tools. As learnt by the police, he used to manipulate women emotionally into relationships and claimed afterwards that he was trapped in legal troubles, suspended from duty or was facing urgent financial crises.

Females duped by means of fabricated stories

The investigating police personnel said Panchal used fabricated letters purportedly issued by government agencies, including fake Income Tax raid notices and documents suggesting that his bank accounts had been frozen. Several women, who believed his stories, transferred money to him for alleged legal expenses and emergency needs.

However, Panchal’s crime was laid bare after women from Ahmedabad’s Naroda and Navrangpura areas turned suspicious and approached the police. As per officials, Panchal allegedly cheated women in multiple states using the same modus operandi over a prolonged period.

Accused earlier booked in rape case

Furthermore, the police revealed that Panchal had earlier been booked in a rape case too, at the Nalasopara police station near Mumbai. He was accused of luring a woman from Virar to a hotel under false pretexts using the same fake policeman identity. However, he secured a bail in that case. Investigators, on the other hand, alleged that he continued to target women even after securing bail.

In one instance, he allegedly borrowed Rs 50,000 from a woman in Ahmedabad’s Nava Vadaj area on the pretext of fulfilling bail-related expenses. Another woman from Naroda who fell into his trap lost Rs 1.8 lakh, while a victim from Navrangpura was duped of Rs 80,000. The Crime branch officials said they are probing the case further to identify more victims and unearth the full extent of the alleged fraud operation.