The vlog opens with a young woman in a pink saree and a white blouse, looking confidently into the front camera. “We have come here to attend the Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha. Since they don’t allow photography inside, we decided to film this outside,” she giggles, and tilts the camera to show her companions. Another woman in pink and white and one in a red saree come into the frame. “Looking at our antics, no one can tell we are IAS officers,” says the latter. All three laugh.

None of it, as it turns out, was true. The women were not IAS officers; the video, too, was not filmed where they claimed it was. Bhopal Police investigation traced its location to a gallery inside the Anthropological Museum complex rather than the Assembly itself.

The two women in pink featured in the video would later tell the police that they were asked to act like IAS officers by the woman in the red saree. She was later identified as Tripti Singh Rajput.

Tripti Singh Rajput has been booked for cheating and personation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). (screenshot from video)

As police began investigating the matter, they learnt that it was not confined to a harmless reel meant to only chase social media clout. Rajput used her fake identity, of an IAS officer working as the Additional Director in the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department, to collect money from people with the promise of government jobs, tourism-property leases, and access to officials.

How police laid the trap

Police in Ashoknagar and Bhopal have registered three FIRs against her. She was arrested on August 23, by Chanderi police in Ashoknagar district, along with her brother Sudhanshu Singh. Police say they laid a trap in which they asked the victims, who had allegedly paid for government jobs, to lure the siblings to Chanderi.

The two women featured in the video claim they, too, were victims of the fraud.

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DCP Sahwal said Rajput’s husband, too, has claimed that she pretended to be an IAS officer – a reason why he said he married her. “They are going through a domestic dispute,” the DCP added.

When Madhya Pradesh police searched Rajput’s home in Bhopal, they uncovered how the 30-year-old set up the illusion that helped her pass off as an IAS officer for a long time.

Tripti Singh Rajput was arrested on August 23, by Chanderi police in Ashoknagar district, along with her brother Sudhanshu Singh.

The police seized purported government identity cards and letterheads, joining documents, trophies and mementoes inscribed with descriptions of her as a trainee IAS officer, and a Toyota Innova bearing a strip marked “Government of India”.

The case that first brought Rajput to police’s attention began in Chanderi. According to the police, she arrived on April 7, 2025, with her brother and two associates, who checked into Kila Kothi – an MP Tourism-run hotel. Here, police said, Rajput introduced herself as an Additional Director in the state’s Tourism Department and began speaking to local residents about government employment.

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Four men came to believe she could secure them positions in the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The price: Rs 3 lakh per person. “According to their complaint, the four handed over Rs 9.80 lakh in cash along with their original documents, with a further Rs 2 lakh due once the jobs came through. When the jobs did not materialise, the men began to question who Rajput actually was,” said a senior police officer.

She has been booked for cheating and personation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Investigators have also invoked Section 61(2), criminal conspiracy, and subsequently, Section 238, concerning concealment or destruction of evidence, after original documents allegedly could not be found.

Police are investigating how the fake documents were collected.

Ashoknagar Superintendent of Police Rajiv Kumar Mishra said, “We have identified two people who allegedly prepared the fake documents and other materials and supplied them to Rajput. We are investigating the possible involvement of other people in the case.”

Files deleted from laptop before arrest

Investigators are also examining a laptop from which files were allegedly deleted before Rajput’s arrest. Phone records and financial transactions are also being examined alongside the laptop as police try to reconstruct the network behind the case.

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Among the paraphernalia that Rajput used to fleece her victims was a photograph taken in Mussoorie, showing her holding a trophy with a “training centre” building visible behind her, police said.

“A fake CBI identity card was also among the items recovered from her Bhopal residence. We are investigating whether this was made with the help of AI,” the officer said.

Police are examining whether other videos or public appearances were staged by Rajput. Investigators are also probing claims that she interacted with civil-service aspirants at coaching institutes in Bhopal, presenting herself as a teacher at an administrative academy.

The alleged scam also dabbled in business dealings involving government tourism properties.

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At Baghsewania police station in Bhopal, a complaint from Seoni resident Gagan Upvanshi led to a fourth FIR, alleging that Rajput, her brother Sudhanshu and an associate named Prakhar took around Rs 49 lakh from him in instalments after promising to arrange a lease for an MP Tourism hotel, claiming to be an Additional Director at the department. The lease never materialised.

Baghsewania police station in-charge Amit Soni said the ongoing interrogation could throw further light on how the operation worked. “During interrogation, important information may emerge about the modus operandi, use of the money and other people involved in the entire network,” Soni said.