Ludhiana: Man posing as minister’s assistant dupes realtor of ₹3 lakh, arrested

Accused posed as personal assistant of minister Hardeep Singh Mundian and took money from a realtor while promising to get his issue related to a property registration resolved but the victim met the minister and got to know about the fraud.

The Jamalpur police arrested a man who falsely claimed to be the personal assistant (PA) of Punjab cabinet minister Hardeep Singh Mundian and allegedly extorted money from people while promising to resolve their issues. The accused, identified as Kuldeep Singh of Janta Colony, reportedly accepted ₹3 lakh from a realtor to settle a property dispute in the minister’s name. Kuldeep Singh’s aide Bittu Bhatia is yet to be arrested.

Accused Kuldeep Singh.

An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, wishing not to be named, said the arrested accused is the cousin of another AAP leader. Social media is flooded with pictures of Kuldeep Singh posing with prominent AAP leaders, including minister Mundian, East Ludhiana MLA Daljit Singh Grewal, alias Bhola Grewal, newly elected Ludhiana mayor Inderjit Kaur and others.

The case came to light after realtor Vicky Verma, a resident of New Basant Vihar, Noorwala Road, filed a complaint. According to Verma, he had entered a deal for a nine-kanal, 16-marla property and paid some amount as advance, but the registration process was stalled due to some issue. During this time, he was introduced to Kuldeep Singh through a realtor, Bittu Bhatia of Kailash Nagar, who assured him that Kuldeep, posing as the minister’s PA, could settle the matter.

Kuldeep allegedly demanded ₹5 lakh to resolve the dispute and accepted ₹3 lakh as an initial payment. Next day, he began pressuring Verma for the remaining ₹2 lakh, claiming that he had already contacted officials to get the work done. Suspecting foul play, Verma met minister Mundian personally and realised that Kuldeep Singh was an imposter.

After learning about the fraud, minister Hardeep Singh Mundian immediately informed Ludhiana police commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal, demanding strict action, the police informed. Following this, the Jamalpur police registered an FIR against Kuldeep Singh under Sections 308 (2) ( extortion), 319 (cheating by personation), and 3 (5) (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and arrested him.

Inspector Kulbir Singh, station house officer (SHO) at the Jamalpur police station, said the accused is not officially associated with AAP and is engaged in the water purifier business. During questioning, Kuldeep claimed this was his first attempt at using a minister’s name for financial gain, but police are investigating if he has deceived others in a similar manner.

When contacted, MLA Daljit Singh Bhola Grewal said he does not know Kuldeep Singh personally and has nothing to do with him. He added that many people request for photos during public events. “The accused might have shared a frame with me during a public gathering,” he said.