Navsari: A man posing as an officer from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) has been arrested in Navsari for attempting to mislead government officials and extort money. Nitesh Chaudhary, a resident of Madhi village in Bardoli taluka, fabricated a story claiming to work for the CMO. For over a year, he pressured Navsari Prant Officer Janam Thakor by repeatedly calling him and seeking interference in various matters. However, due to his suspicious recommendations, Officer Thakor decided to verify his identity, leading to the revelation of Nitesh being a fake CMO official.

Janam Thakor has served as the Navsari Provincial Officer for over a year and previously served as the Provincial Officer in Bardoli from February 2023 to October 2023. During this time, Nitesh Chaudhary called him, claiming to be an employee of the Chief Minister’s Office and suggesting the filing of a complaint under the Gujarat Land Grabbing Prohibition Act of 2020. At that time, the provincial officer did not suspect the accused and provided legal advice over the phone.

On October 23, 2024, Chaudhary again called Thakor, stating that a land case in Ganesh Sisodra village in Navsari taluka was being settled in collaboration with the Collector. He claimed that someone had taken Rs 40 lakh from the land complainant. Thakor was asked to verify the claim, ensuring that no money was demanded from the land commissioner.

Later, Thakor fined an accused in a 73AA land case in Ganesh Sisodra, where the fake CM office employee indirectly claimed that the accused was a respectable man and urged Thakor to assist him as much as possible over the phone. The provincial officer became suspicious, thinking that such a recommendation could not have come from the CM office. Following this, Thakor asked several questions regarding administrative matters during his phone conversation with Chaudhary, which further strengthened his suspicion that the caller was a fake official. Thakor privately investigated the matter and found that the accused, Nitesh Chaudhary, is a native of Madhi village in Bardoli taluka and does not work in the CM office. As a result, he filed a complaint against Chaudhary at the Navsari rural police station, and today the rural police arrested the accused. DeshGujarat

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