A government identity card, a luxury vehicle and a few carefully staged photographs can create an illusion of authority. Recent cases reported in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar show how people accused of impersonating IAS officers allegedly built such identities to gain trust, influence and, in some cases, money.
According to TOI reports, those allegedly involved used forged documents, social media posts, official-looking vehicles and claims of political or government connections to make their stories appear credible.
