New Delhi: The Delhi Police Crime Branch recently arrested a man who allegedly posed as BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and a Jharkhand minister to con people into giving him money, saying they were funds for the upcoming Assembly elections. The accused was identified as Sanjay Tiwari and his alleged accomplice Gaurav was also arrested. This is the 11th such case against Tiwari.
How the case came to light
According to Joint Commissioner (Crime) Ravindra Yadav, the department received a complaint from Sushant Mukherjee, personal secretary to Jharkhand Minister of Revenue and Land Registration Amar Kumar Bauri on January 24. Mukherjee said the minister was getting calls for some time from the National General Secretary of the BJP asking for party funds for the upcoming elections. The caller had sent a representative to Jharkhand Bhawan, where he met the minister and demanded money from the party funds. On cross-checking with the office of Ram Madhav, it came to light that no such communication was ever made.
Who is Sanjay Tiwari?
Tiwari (40) is a Class 10 dropout and a resident of Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh. He came to Delhi in 1999 and worked as a freelance poem reciter with the All India Radio. He also worked as a news stringer. He had also conducted a sting operation against LPG cylinder contractors who indulged in black marketing. He later tried to blackmail them but was arrested for extortion.
“He said he has also worked with Tarun Tejpal, the former editor-in-chief of Tehelka. He said he later worked for film director Tanuja Chandra in Mumbai for some months,” said Ravindra Yadav.
During questioning, Tiwari reportedly told the police that he thought of the elaborate con while working as a personal assistant to a Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh.
His Victims Include…
Tiwari reportedly disclosed that he had cheated a number of politicians and government officials.
— He got Rs 50,000 from Pramila Rani Brahma of Assam BJP by posing as the personal assistant to the minister/secretary in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region.
— He conned Bhika Sole, Nagaland state president of the BJP, of Rs 50,000 by impersonating as the PA to Ram Madhav.
— He cheated Rs 10,000 from H R Joshan, Ex MLA Congress from Punjab by impersonating as Madhavan, PA to Sonia Gandhi (President, INC). He asked money on the pretext of giving him a ticket in the forthcoming Punjab Assembly Elections.
— Tiwari extracted Rs 10,000 from Achoba Singh, former deputy chief minister of Manipur, on the pretext of contribution for the construction of a new building. He called him impersonating Bhaiyyaji Joshi, General Secretary RSS.
— He deceived P. Tusiang Sang, Parliament Secretary, Meghalaya, Congress, impersonating as PA in the Ministry of Doner, and made him pay Rs 10,000.
— He defrauded Nilo Rangma, Former Congress MLA from Nagaland, of Rs 10,000 on the pretext of party fund. This time he impersonated Madhavan, PA to Sonia Gandhi
— He cheated Rs 2,000 from K.S. Thanga, Congress Minister in Mizoram, by impersonating as PA in the Ministry of Doner.
— He also claimed to have trapped Mizoram State Secretary of BJP Sangte on the pretext of providing party funds for upcoming UP elections. Sangte was reluctant to pay. The accused was apprehended before he could succeed.
Tiwari tried hoodwinking several other ministers into the same trap but failed.
According to senior police officers, he claimed that he tried extorting money from Punjab minister Madan Mohan Mittal, MLA from Jharkhand Vikas Munda.
A number of MLAs from Arunachal Pradesh, namely, Taniya Taga, Tacho and T Jeboha were also tried upon, but Tiwari failed to defraud them.
CP Patwari from Assam, Phunja Thang (Congress, Manipur), Kharbali, PWD Engineer, Meghalaya, Shri Chauhan, Sikkim, and Ashok Chaudhary, Congress, Bihar, and some BSP leaders were among others who, Tiwari tried extorting money from, using the same tactics. Police said that his claims are being verified.
Tiwari had also reportedly done sting operations on Kiren Rijiju and Mayawati, but police are verifying those claims as well.
During his interrogation, Tiwari admitted that during demonetization, he could not extort much money because almost everyone cited cash problems.