Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): A tribal woman’s accusations against a well-known Madhya Pradesh DSP for duping her of ₹72 lakh turned out to be false.
According to information, the fraud case surfaced from Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh, where a tribal woman was cheated of ₹72 lakh by a man posing as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).
The woman believed she was talking to a well-known Madhya Pradesh DSP, but police later found that the accused had been using the officer’s photos to run the scam for nearly 7 years.
DSP Santosh Patel has 2.2 million followers
The woman had approached Kusmi police station and named DSP Santosh Patel - a popular officer with 2.2 million social media followers - as the person she had spoken to.
A police team then reached Balaghat, where the real DSP Patel is currently posted as Assistant Commandant in the Hawk Force.
He was shocked when he saw the complaint documents containing his photo, as he had never contacted the woman.
DSP Patel spoke to the victim over a video call, where she repeatedly claimed that he had taken ₹72 lakh from her.
She said the person who spoke to her earlier never showed his face and was now making video calls out of fear. This confirmed that the woman had been talking to a fraudster using the DSP’s photos.
Real accused held from Sidhi
The investigation revealed that the real accused is Santosh Patel, a resident of Padkhuri Pachokhar in Churhat, Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.
In 2016, he worked as a JCB operator at a road construction site in Chhattisgarh, where he met the victim, Lalki Bai, who used to graze goats nearby.
After returning to his village, he called her months later, claiming he had become an MP Police DSP and could get her two sons recruited by paying money.
According to Chhattisgarh Police, between 2018 and 2025, the accused took nearly ₹72 lakh from the woman through PhonePe and other payment methods. She borrowed money from relatives and even sold her land, hoping her sons would get police jobs. The man kept demanding more money over the years.
On 12 November, Chhattisgarh Police arrested the fake DSP. During interrogation, he admitted that he had spent all the money. Police are now investigating where the money was used or invested.
