The Prison Service reprimanded the officers for not greeting him, and it turned out that he was an impostor

A 38-year-old man was arrested in Lucknow for allegedly posing as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and threatening members of the force, officials said on Tuesday.

Mahanagar police arrested the accused, identified as Mithilesh Shukla, on charges of impersonating a public servant and obstructing government work, police said.

Police said they received a phone call on the night of June 13 regarding a dispute at a cafe near the Gul Market crossing over payment. When the police team reached the spot, Shukla was seen arguing with the shop owner.

When police officials asked him about his ancestry, he said he was an “IAS officer from Noida” and reprimanded the officers for not wearing their caps and not saluting them, the police said, as reported by PTI.

He allegedly left the scene when he was asked to show his identity card. Later, a video of the incident spread on social media.

What led to his arrest was another complaint received by the police on June 15 about the same person causing noise at a tea stall, after which he was brought to the police station for questioning.

During interrogation, Shukla admitted that he is not an IAS officer but works as an accounts manager in a company in Sector 18, Noida, PTI reported, citing officials.

He was booked at Mahanagar police station and arrested, police said.

The accused, identified as Aryan Verma, who was arrested after a sting operation, was under the Army’s radar for about two months after they received information about him frequently being seen wearing the ceremonial uniform of a Brigadier and presenting himself as a high-ranking officer.

Verma had a carefully detailed plan to complete the impersonation, where he hired two guards and posed them as National Security Guard (NSG) commandos, HT had reported earlier. He reportedly claimed that he was provided with special security cover and displayed a photo of a high-ranking military officer.