A West Bengal-origin man has been arrested by the Valsad Cyber Crime Police in Gujarat for allegedly forging official letterheads and e-mail accounts of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament to fraudulently obtain confirmed railway tickets under the special quota and send fake recommendation letters to the State Bank of India (SBI) chairman. The arrest was made within hours of the complaint being registered, officials said on Monday, 13 July.

Who Was Arrested and How

The accused, Pratik Dey, 30, originally from West Bengal and residing in the Isanpur area of Ahmedabad, was taken into custody following a cyber fraud case registered at the Valsad Cyber Crime Police Station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Information Technology Act, 2008. The case was set in motion after Ravikumar Patel, personal assistant to Valsad Lok Sabha MP Dhaval Patel, filed a complaint alleging that an unknown individual had impersonated the MP using his identity, official designation, letterhead, and signature to prepare forged electronic records.

Investigators conducted technical and social profile analysis of data obtained from the MP's office, which traced a fraudulent e-mail account — 'officempvalsad2@gmail.com' — to the Isanpur locality. The cyber crime team then travelled to Ahmedabad and, using human intelligence, identified Dey as the alleged perpetrator.

Scale of the Forgery

During questioning, police discovered that Dey had allegedly fabricated letterheads not only of MP Dhaval Patel but also of MP Parshottam Rupala and a police officer from West Bengal. The forged recommendation letter was addressed to SBI Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, reportedly in an attempt to mislead the bank and extract benefits through fraudulent means.

Investigators seized a mobile phone containing the fake e-mail account along with seven other logged-in e-mail accounts, including one purportedly linked to a police officer. A laptop allegedly holding forged letterhead templates was also recovered. Among the seized materials were approximately seven forged letterheads in the name of MP Purushottam Rupala, eight letters purportedly issued by the Hooghly Rural Police District Headquarters in West Bengal bearing the signature of a Deputy Superintendent of Police, six letters bearing the purported signature of Deputy Superintendent of Police Sandip Nandi, and one letter bearing the purported signature of Deputy Superintendent of Police Rajib Gon.

What the Forged Documents Were Used For

According to the investigation, the fraudulent documents served two primary purposes: securing confirmed railway tickets through the Railway Special Quota — a reserved allocation typically accessible only through official MP recommendations — and sending recommendation letters to SBI headquarters. This combination suggests a broader scheme to leverage forged political authority for personal or commercial gain.

Notably, the accused reportedly maintained multiple fake e-mail accounts simultaneously, indicating a pattern of sustained deception rather than a one-off incident. Whether additional beneficiaries were involved remains under investigation.

Legal Charges and Investigation Status

The case has been registered under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 336(4) and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2008. The investigation is being conducted under the guidance of Director General of Police G.S. Malik and other senior officials.

'The accused remains in custody and further investigation is underway to determine the full extent of the alleged fraud and whether additional offences or beneficiaries are involved,' an official said. Authorities have not ruled out the possibility that the forged police letters from West Bengal may point to a wider network of document fraud extending beyond Gujarat.