4 min readPatnaUpdated: Aug 11, 2026 11:52 AM IST
A five-storey independent house towers above the rest in the Jamalpur locality of Bihar’s Khagaria. Outside, a white Tata Safari shares space with a shiny black Tesla.
It is unusual for the driverless car to be seen in this part of the country. But what’s even more bizarre is for it to bear the sticker: “Govt of India.”
On Saturday afternoon, a 50-year-old resident of the house was approached by the police.
When questioned, he introduced himself as Mukesh Kumar Gupta – an IAS officer. He even pulled out his smartphone to show the personnel an identity card, which said he was a “Chief Security Officer” with the Central Vigilance Commission.
“During further questioning, he claimed that he was an undercover agent working under Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Adviser,” said an officer who was part of the team.
Verification of the identity card confirmed what police already suspected: The man was an imposter.
Gupta was arrested for offences involving impersonation of public servants, contempt of lawful authority, cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Story continues below this ad
His two cars – apart from the Tesla, he owned a Tata Safari (which also bore the ‘govt of India’ sticker) – have been seized.
Police said Gupta had been running a fraud racket for a very long time in Khagaria as well as other districts of Bihar, by posing as an IAS officer. “Claiming to be a bureaucrat, he would spread false rumours and assert dominance among the public,” a senior police officer said.
The officer said police had received a tip-off about Gupta’s alleged activities, which led to the search of his sprawling premises.
House of secrets
“Five iPhones were recovered from there – four from a room and one from Gupta’s possession. He disclosed the number of only the phone found on his person and refused to provide the numbers of the other four or unlock the codes of any of the devices,” the officer said.
Story continues below this ad
The team also found an Apple MacBook, an iPad, a 4TB hard disk and an 11-camera CCTV system. Then came the bank cards.
“Twenty credit cards, including American Express, in the names of Manish Kumar, Ajit Kumar, N K Kumar and Mukesh Kumar Gupta were recovered. Sixteen of those belonged to Gupta,” the officer said, adding that four cheque books and eight debit cards were also seized along with two Priority Pass cards.
As police were going through electronic devices and bank documents, they stumbled upon something that they did not go looking for at all: Two horns of barasingha (swamp deer), inviting further charges. “Gupta has also been booked under Section 51 of the Jammu and Kashmir Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1978, for the possession of barasingha horns,” the officer said.
The search then led to 32 bottles of foreign liquor measuring 31.24 litres and 30 cans of beer measuring 9.9 litres in the verandah and the kitchen, police said.
Story continues below this ad
“Gupta told us that his brother Ajit Kumar was a fund manager who lived in London, and that he occasionally brought branded foreign liquor from abroad for the family to consume,” the officer said. However, he could not produce valid documents for the liquor.
With Bihar being a prohibition state, this invited fresh charges.
“A separate case was registered after the liquor was seized and sealed at the spot. Gupta refused to sign the seizure list. He and his brother Ajit Kumar were booked under Section 61(2) of the BNS and Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act,” the officer said, adding that Gupta was then placed under arrest and his family informed.
Police believe the case may extend far beyond impersonation.
The senior officer said Gupta’s properties and financial dealings were being examined, with the Bihar Police’s Economic Offences Unit likely to assist investigators. Police suspect that some of the assets may have been acquired through fraud, by misleading people or through corruption.
Story continues below this ad
“Information has also been received about Gupta’s assets outside Bihar and even abroad,” the officer said, adding further details were being withheld as the investigation was still underway. The officer said “more arrests could follow as the case would be investigated on a larger scale”.