He was fascinated by politicians

Alleged conman posed as personal secretary of vice-president Hamid Ansari as well. Karn Pratap Singh reports.

Not just Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, alleged conman Gulshan Sharma used to pose as the personal secretary of Vice-President Hamid Ansari as well.

HT Image

It was during his brief stint in the Delhi Secretariat as a temporary employee who served water and tea to senior officers when Sharma got a taste of the power and reach of the chief minister's personal secretary.

Though Sharma's job did not last for long, he did learn the trick of impressing and cheating people by posing himself as a personal secretary (PS) to Dikshit and Ansari. He tested his con skills on junior officers of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) by helping them get transfers, police said.

"He introduced himself as PS to the Delhi CM or the Vice President. Sharma claimed he successfully tricked some senior officers as well, but we have not received any complaint in this regard," said an investigating officer. Some visiting cards recovered from him have the emblem of India. He used a fake name — Gagan Sharma — on the visiting cards, the officer said.

Additional DCP (southwest) Parmaditya said Sharma has been duping people for the past six years. He was first caught in 2010 while extorting money from a mineral water supplier in Uttam Nagar. "Sharma used his fake identity to make calls to the water and electricity departments of the Delhi government and sort out problems of his 'customers'. He used to charge them between R5,000 and R10,000 for doing a favour," said the investigating officer.

Parmaditya said Sharma was drawn by the power and position of politicians and he too wanted to become one. "He told us that he is a big fan of Ajay Devgn and was inspired by films 'Rajneeti' and 'Apharan'. He also made up his mind to make quick money," added Paramaditya.

Sharma, who hails from Punjab, is a school dropout. His father died four years ago. His mother, who has been making her ends meet by selling tea.