New Delhi, Sep 4 : Shahdara district police in Delhi have arrested a 23-year-old man for impersonating a Lieutenant in the Indian Army's Para Commando unit and duping a woman of Rs 70,000 on the pretext of marriage.

According to police, a PCR call was received at Farsh Bazar police station on September 1, when the complainant, 28-year-old Damini, a medical store owner from Noida, alleged that she had been cheated by a man posing as an Army officer.

The accused, identified as Deepanshu, a resident of Sanjeev Nagar, Kanpur, was apprehended when he came to meet her.

A police team comprising SI Vinay, ASI Shiv Kumar Solanki and Ct. Vikrant, led by Inspector Ajay Karan Sharma (SHO/Farsh Bazar) and supervised by ACP Sanjay Kumar, verified the facts and arrested the accused.

An FIR (No. 452/2025) under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered on September 2. Investigators revealed that Deepanshu had earlier appeared for the NDA exam but failed. Ashamed to reveal the truth, he downloaded a pass-out list carrying the name 'Deepanshu' and convinced his parents that he had been selected.

'He took out the NDA passout candidate list from the portal, which carried the name of one Deepanshu. He showed his parents that he had been selected and left the house by saying that he was going to NDA Khadakwasla for training. He stayed around Kanpur doing odd jobs,' the police said in a statement.

At a marriage function, he met Damini and introduced himself as a Lieutenant in the Para Commando Force.

Over time, he visited her several times dressed in uniform. Gaining her trust, he extracted around Rs 70,000 through cash and online transfers on various pretexts.

On checking his phone, police found photographs of him in an Army uniform, a fake Army identity card, an NDA rank list, and a forged appointment letter.

His father, a retired Havaldar, was also unaware of his deception.

Police have recovered one Army Lieutenant uniform and a fake identity card.

Further investigation is underway.

/IANS