He had been operating for over a year and accumulated over ₹10 lakh through deceit

A man pretending to be a senior executive of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues Aadhaar cards, was arrested by the police for duping numerous people with the promise of giving them houses under government schemes.

Rajkumar, 45, a resident of Jayanagar III Block, was arrested on Saturday following a complaint filed by one of his victims, said the HAL police. According to the police, Rajkumar would approach persons from economically backward communities in Aadhaar enrolment centres and promise them that he would get Aadhaar cards done for them. He would also claim that for a fee, he could get them houses under various government schemes.

He would charge anywhere between ₹10,000 and ₹1 lakh, and flee with the money. He had been operating for over a year and accumulated over ₹10 lakh, police said. “Claiming to have authority, he would threaten the victims with cases if they demanded their money back,” a senior police officer said. However, one victim reached out to the police. “During questioning, he claimed that he is the CEO for South India for UIDAI, and is a trainer for UIDAI. While we doubt his claims, we have asked him to provide us proof and documents,” said an officer.

UIDAI authorities said there was no such person like this working in the organisation. “It is a lean organisation, and he was never an employee. There is no such post as CEO of South India for UIDAI,” said an official.