MP conmen pose as railway cops, use fake accident stories & AI to cheat officials across country of small amounts

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A chance conversation between two Hingoli police officers about money paid to supposed GRP personnel — to transport the body of an accident victim from their jurisdiction — unravelled an interstate racket targeting senior officials across the country run by conmen from Madhya Pradesh.The Hingoli officers were targeted on Monday, and within 48 hours, the police arrested the conmen from Madhya Pradesh. During interrogation, the accused men revealed details of a carefully planned fraud network targeting high-ranking officials across the country. Investigators said the accused confessed to cheating district collectors, senior police officers and even two ministers across multiple states using the same modus operandi.Hingoli superintendent of police Nilabh Rohan confirmed the development and said the accused deliberately targeted govt officials and public representatives for relatively small amounts. "They would seek small amounts so that even if the victims realised they were cheated, they would hesitate to lodge complaints — either due to the amount being insignificant or fear of social embarrassment," he said.Further probe revealed that the gang executed similar frauds across states, including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab. Investigators also found that the accused used artificial intelligence platforms, including ChatGPT, to understand police procedures such as the preparation of inquest reports and protocols followed in accidental deaths, making their claims appear more credible.The arrested accused have been identified as Amit Kurmi (34), the sarpanch of Juna village, along with Virsing Gond (40) and Bharat Kurmi (55), all residents of Juna village in Rehli taluka of MP's Sagar district. Another accused, Sitaram Kurmi (19), also a resident of the same village, has been identified and is being investigated.The police said the racket came to light after the accused duped a Kalamnuri inspector and a Basmat-based assistant inspector by posing as GRP personnel and narrating a fabricated story about a girl dying in a railway accident, seeking money to transport the body.Local crime branch inspector Mohan Bhosale said the accused carried out extensive groundwork before making calls. "They used tools like Google Maps to identify specific localities and studied common surnames in those areas through social media. Based on this, they would create convincing stories of a local person dying in a railway accident," he said.Assistant inspector Shivsamb Gheware said the gang used bank accounts and documents of unsuspecting tribal people from their village to route the cheated money, making detection more difficult.Police said the accused have criminal records with multiple fraud cases registered against them, and further investigation is underway to trace additional victims and uncover the full extent of the interstate racket.