05 April,2010 08:36 AM IST | | Imran Gowhar
Andhra agriculture officer in Mysore masquerades as IAS officer to avail government facilities SV Rao (49), an assistant agriculture officer from Andhra Pradesh, who tried to cheat the Mysore district administration by claiming he was an IAS officer
HE tried his luck to avail of government facilities he wasn't entitled to. It was an official's alertness that landed him behind bars.
SV Rao (49), an assistant agriculture officer from Andhra Pradesh who planned a week's vacation in Mysore with his wife, thought of making use of government facilities.
He allegedly sought a VIP guest room in the Chamundi guesthouse by identifying himself as an Indian Administrative Service officer and sent an e-mail to the deputy commissioner of Mysore.
In the mail, he introduced himself as a deputy secretary in the Andhra Pradesh government's Protocol Department
Asking for trouble
The deputy commissioner forwarded his e-mail to the superintendent, M P Vibhuti, to make the required arrangements. A room was also allotted to Rao.
Rao and his wife, Usha Rani, arrived in Mysore and put up in the room.
The alleged fraud came to light when Rao tried pushing his luck a bit too far and asked Vibhuti for the district administration's official car to visit Chamundi Hill.
Before sanctioning the car, Vibhuti informed Deputy Commissioner P Manivannan, who directed his staff to run a casual check on Rao's identity with their Andhra counterparts. This was done, as is required under protocol.
'No such post'
The AP Protocol Secretariat's Special Secretary, N V Ramareddy, reverted saying there was no post of deputy secretary in the Protocol Department.
A police complaint was lodged in this regard.
Based on the complaint, Rao was detained. He has confessed to his crime, said Inspector T D Jayaram of Nazarbad police station.
Rao has told the police that a tourist guide had given him this suggestion. He said that the immediate response to his e-mail prompted him to try his luck.
"Rao has been booked for impersonation and remanded in judicial custody. His wife, however, was let off as we do not suspect her involvement," Jayaram said.
