No Money For Hotel Bill, But Claimed To Be IAS: ‘Fake Collector’ Held In Indore

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Lasudiya police have arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly posing as an IAS officer and a district collector to intimidate people. The accused, Himanshu Panchal, is a resident of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and was staying on rent at Shubh Aangan Premium, Omaxe City-1, Lasudiya.

Lasudiya TI Rajkumar Yadav said the matter came to light after a hotel reported a payment dispute involving a man who identified himself as Raj Soni.

Police said Panchal had dined at the hotel but claimed he had no money to pay the bill and that his personal assistant would arrive within two hours to make the payment.

Police reached the hotel and questioned him. He initially identified himself as Raj Soni and claimed to be an IAS officer but failed to produce documents related to his posting. During questioning, he admitted that his real name was Himanshu Panchal.

Police recovered a black nameplate bearing the words “IAS Raj Soni, District Collector” and a photo frame carrying “Satyamev Jayate” from his rented house.

Investigators found that Panchal had moved into the house about a month ago and installed the fake nameplate around 15 days ago. He had earlier worked for an IT company in Ahmedabad.

Police also found that an FIR for cheating was registered against him at Adalaj police station in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on May 23, 2026.

Police registered a case under Section 204 of the BNS and are probing whether Panchal cheated or deceived others while posing as a government officer.