Spotlight | The man who wore an IAS mask

A committee beside a humble location successful a congested country successful Jhungia Bazar successful Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, proclaimed ‘Gaurav Kumar Singh, IAS’. Neighbours accidental a batch of pemehople successful cars would sojourn the house, which was rented by a 27-year-old six months ago.

On the greeting of December 9, Gaurav Kumar Singh alias Lalit Kishor, 27, from Bihar’s Sitamarhi district, was arrested. The Gorakhpur constabulary had received a tip-off from the Railway Protection Force.

In Bihar, Lalit was driven astir successful a achromatic multi-utility conveyance fitted with beacon lights and displaying forged authorities nameplates. He had a 10-member entourage, and his men were trained to make an ambiance of officialdom.

Caught successful a web of corruption

Later, the constabulary recovered that helium was paying ₹30,000 to each of his 10- to 15-member information unit each month. His brother-in-law, Abhishek Kumar, a machine bundle professional, who helium addressed arsenic “Steno Babu”, got a monthly ‘salary’ of ₹60,000.

His different aide, Parmanand Gupta, from Lachhipur country of Gorakhpur, was allegedly paid per job. The ‘job’ was to behaviour inspections astatine backstage schools and extort wealth from their operators. The constabulary besides recovered fabricated media clippings showing Lalit seated successful a District Magistrate’s seat successful an office.

“Several forged IDs, mobile phones, laptops, jewellery, cash, slope passbooks, and galore AI-generated photos successful which Lalit Kishor had replaced existent officials’ faces with his ain were seized astatine the clip of his arrest,” Gorakhpur Superintendent of Police Abhinav Tyagi said. Lalit had allegedly been spending astir ₹5 lakh a period connected convoys and personnel.

During the Bihar Assembly predetermination successful November 2025, Mukund Madhav, a contractor from Mokama successful Patna district, was arrested from the Gorakhpur railway station. He was carrying ₹99.09 lakh cash. His communicative led the constabulary to Lalit, the constabulary say.

Lalit had allegedly taken a bribe of ₹5 crore from the contractor, promising him a authorities tender worthy ₹450 crore. “When the tender went to idiosyncratic else, the contractor exerted unit connected Kishor to instrumentality the bribe money. It was a portion of that returned wealth helium was caught with astatine the Gorakhpur railway station,” Tyagi elaborated. “It was besides recovered retired that helium had paid ₹1.7 crore and 2 Innovas to him for the tender.”

Ward no. 37

Back successful Bihar’s Sitamarhi town, successful the eastbound flank of Mehsaul country successful ward fig 37, his household lives successful poverty. They accidental Lalit near successful 2017, and returned conscionable erstwhile for a time successful 2020, erstwhile his begetter Chalitar Ram, a cobbler, died.

Lalit is the 4th of 5 sons. The different brothers enactment arsenic part-time masons, cultivation labourers, and cobblers. They unrecorded successful a location that is part-concrete, part-mud-and-thatch and extended irregularly arsenic the household expanded. The oldest successful the location is their mother, Jahari Devi, a septuagenarian, who works arsenic a location help.

All the brothers surviving successful the colony are joined and person 2 children each. “We bash not cognize thing astir Lalit Kishor, wherever helium lives, and what helium does,” said Sangeeta Devi, whose hubby Raj Kishor Ram is Lalit’s brother. “All 17 of america unrecorded successful this rickety dwelling, and someway we negociate with our husbands’ meagre incomes. We bash not person adjacent a tiny crippled of cultivation onshore to cultivate anything,” she said.

She added that erstwhile helium came for a time successful 2020, helium said helium could not unrecorded successful the squalor they lived in. The location is disconnected the road, down a ungraded track. Sangeeta sat connected a tattered bamboo mat extracurricular their dwelling, a faded jute awning hanging astatine the beforehand door, talking to the 2 different wives of the brothers.

“Hum logon ko koi matlab nahi hai america se. Jaisi karni waisi bharni,” (We bash not person thing to bash with him. What helium sowed, truthful shall helium reap), said different sister-in-law, from down her veil. “He hasn’t fixed adjacent a azygous penny to us; nor person we ever sought thing from him. Even his parent says she wants thing to bash with him. He has lone brought america trouble.” The household is bushed of the media hounding them.

Running away

Sanjay Kumar, a neighbour who dabbles successful section politics, said Lalit was bully astatine his studies and helium could besides easy onslaught up a speech with anyone. He had the quality to ferret retired accusation adjacent from strangers. Kumar laughed, saying, “Today Lalit has made Mehsaul celebrated oregon adjacent infamous.”

After finishing school, Lalit had opened a coaching institute adjacent to home. He was allegedly charging students a interest of ₹30 a period and tutoring those who couldn’t spend this for free.

Sangeeta remembers Lalit from erstwhile she was married. “Lalit was the lone member who went to school,” she said. “He was astir 14 oregon 15 years aged then. In a mates of years, 1 time helium conscionable left. He eloped with a miss helium was tutoring.”

The Gorakhpur constabulary recovered that the girl, a Class 10 pupil from the adjacent Ram Nagara area, came to his coaching institute. He aboriginal joined her successful the celebrated Janaki temple of Sitamarhi town, the constabulary said.

Mandakini Devi, the girl’s grandmother, says, “Our household snapped each ties with her. We bash not cognize whether she is live oregon dormant aft her marriage,” she said. The miss has 2 brothers and parents, who present unrecorded successful Gujarat. She and her hubby unrecorded successful a single-storeyed factual location with a bamboo bound partition and a tin beforehand gate.

“She was going to his coaching institute connected a bicycle each day. They indispensable person fallen successful emotion and decided to wed there,” Mandakini added. She excessively is fed up of the media gaze. She goes into the compound and slams the tin gross shut.

The constabulary besides recovered Lalit’s chats with different girls portion going done his phone. “During our probe we recovered 3 of them are pregnant,” said SP Tyagi.

Crime and punishment

Lalit shifted his basal to Banka territory aft helium near town, immoderate 340 km south-east of Patna, accidental the police. In 2019 helium got a Master’s grade successful mathematics.

In Banka, helium opened different coaching institute, called Aaditya-50, for students aspiring for authorities jobs. This was allegedly his archetypal brushwood with taking money. He promised a miss pupil a authorities occupation and allegedly took ₹2 lakh for this.

Since helium couldn’t marque it happen, a constabulary lawsuit was registered against him by the deceived miss and her household members. Before leaving Banka though, helium duped respective different people, including his past landlord of the rented location helium lived in, for ₹10 lakh, accidental the police. “Then helium went underground,” said Mr. Tyagi.

When helium resurfaced, helium declared that helium had cracked the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam and took connected the persona of idiosyncratic from the civilian service’s 2022 batch. “He kept shifting his basal among 4 States: Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh,” Mr. Tyagi said. “ Lalit, Abhishekh and Parmanand person duped astatine slightest 40 radical and got crores of money. All 3 person been arrested,” said the SP. The serviceman asked anyone who had been duped by them to travel guardant and record a complaint.

amarnath.tewary@thehindu.co.in

Edited by Sunalini Mathew