Fake CM Office ‘employee’ dupes Deputy Collector of ₹3 lakh:Promise of lighter punishment backfires; suspended officer learns inquiries aren’t on discount

A Deputy Collector from Madhya Pradesh was cheated of about ₹3 lakh after fraudsters promised to reduce his punishment in a departmental inquiry. The accused took advantage of his official position and gained his trust by posing as employees of the CM Portal Office. The Deputy Collector, who lives in Gwalior, lost ₹2.95 lakh in instalments. According to police, the fraud was carried out through phone calls made from unknown numbers, which later appeared genuine due to references to senior officials. The victim has been identified as Arvind Singh Mahaur (41), a resident of New Ashok Colony under the Thatipur police station area. He was posted in Sabalgarh town of Morena district at the time of the incident. In his complaint, Mahaur told police that on the night of September 19, 2025, at around 8:17 pm, he received a call from an unknown number on his mobile phone. Since the number was not saved, he did not answer the call. After this, the same person called the Collector and claimed to be speaking from the CM Portal Office. The caller told the Collector that the Deputy Collector was not answering his phone. Following the Collector’s instructions, the Deputy Collector later received another call from a different number. When Mahaur checked the number on the Truecaller app, it was displayed as “CM Portal – Ashwini”. As the call came with a reference from the Collector, he believed it to be genuine and answered the phone. Fraud in the name of providing relief in departmental action
The person who called introduced himself as an employee of the CM’s office and said that some amount would have to be deposited as a contribution to reduce the punishment in the departmental action. Falling for the caller’s words, the Deputy Collector transferred about Rs 2.95 lakh to different numbers through online wallets and bank accounts at different times between September 19 and October 1. Despite this, the accused kept demanding more money. This made the Deputy Collector suspicious. Deputy Collector gathered information, fraud came to light
Suspecting foul play, the Deputy Collector gathered information himself. It was revealed that no person or employee named Ashwini is posted in the CM’s office. When he asked the accused to return his money, the accused stopped communicating. E-Zero FIR registered on 1930 helpline
After the incident, Deputy Collector Arvind Singh Mahaur immediately registered an e-zero FIR on cyber helpline number 1930. The complaint reached Thatipur police station via CCTNS, where a case of cyber fraud was registered on his application on Saturday and an investigation has been initiated. E-Zero FIR campaign in Madhya Pradesh
In this matter, ASP Anu Beniwal stated that an e-zero FIR campaign is being run in Madhya Pradesh. Under this, this case has been registered at Thatipur police station. Initial investigation has revealed that a government employee was defrauded of Rs 2 lakh 95 thousand by someone who called him and impersonated a government employee. The matter is being investigated. Now know what was the controversy related to the complainant officer ? Woman had made allegations against Deputy Collector
In this case, a controversy is also associated with the complainant Arvind Mahaur, in which he is suspended. A woman from Gwalior had accused him of harassing her daughter by calling her. The woman had also filed a complaint, including a video, in the public hearing. Allegations of abuse and intimidation over the phone
The complainant woman and her husband had stated that the SDM had found out their daughter’s mobile number and had been making obscene calls late at night for the past one year. When their daughter stopped answering calls, he started threatening relatives over the phone. They stated- The SDM reached the brother-in-law’s shop in Sabalgarh, called him home, and threatened him, saying, “Your daughter and your sister-in-law are very aggressive, I will implicate you in a false case. There is no officer bigger than me.” In the video, the SDM was seen abusing
The woman also submitted a video along with her complaint to the Collector during the public hearing. The SDM seen in the video appears to be speaking in abusive language. In the video, he asks the brother-in-law, “Where is your sister-in-law from?”…and then makes several objectionable remarks. SDM Arvind Mahaur, posted in Sabalgarh, has been harassing my family without reason for the past one year. He misuses his powers by calling my daughter at night and abusing her, and when I or my family protest against him for not answering his calls, he calls relatives and threatens us. My brother-in-law told that on September 5th, the SDM came to my shop and asked why I didn’t come when he had called me to his residence. I told him that I work as a laborer and am poor. Then he threatened, saying that if I don’t come on time, he will trap me and my family in such a way that nothing will be good. Due to fear, I went to his call that same evening, but there, vulgar abuses were hurled and I was also threatened with death. When I wanted to record something with my mobile, my mobile was taken by the guard. Following the complaint, he was suspended after departmental action. The CM himself shared the information about the suspension on his X. Until September 2025, he served as SDM in Sabalgarh, Morena. Currently, he is attached to the Chambal Divisional Office.