The many lives of ‘Arpit Singh’: One name, six jobs & crores vanished from UP’s health dept

One man, one state department, six different posts, and nearly 10 years of deception. According to a TOI, “Arpit Singh” made the impossible possible for nine years in Uttar Pradesh’s Health Department by cashing in on Rs 69,595 as an X-ray technician in six different districts.

The scam unraveled only when the state’s Manav Sampada portal flagged identical entries during an online verification drive.

What officials found was startling: six impostors, all using the same name, father’s name, and date of birth, had infiltrated the system with forged Aadhaar cards and cloned appointment letters. By the time the fraud came to light, nearly Rs 4.5 crore had been siphoned off.

The origins of this elaborate con go back to 2016, when the UP Subordinate Services Selection Commission appointed 403 candidates as X-ray technicians.

The real Arpit Singh from Agra, listed at serial number 80, was among them, TOI . But soon after, counterfeit versions of his appointment letter surfaced, paving the way for six impostors to secure postings in Balrampur, Farrukhabad, Banda, Rampur, Amroha, and Shamli.

For years, their paperwork appeared convincing enough to escape scrutiny, allowing the “many Arpits” to draw state salaries without detection.When the fraud was finally flagged, the gang had already melted away. Investigators found their homes locked and phones switched off, leaving few leads. According to the TOI Dr. Ranjana Khare, director (paramedical), has filed a formal complaint at Wazirganj police station naming the bogus recruits. The FIR lists a slew of charges under the Indian Penal Code, including cheating by impersonation (419), fraud (420), forgery of valuable security (467), forgery for cheating (468), and use of forged documents (471). DCP (West Zone) Vishwajeet Srivastava confirmed that service records and joining letters from all six districts are being collected as part of the investigation.

Beyond the fraud itself, the scandal has touched off political sparring. The recruitment process took place during the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government, giving opponents fresh ammunition.

TOI further reported that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered his deputy and health minister, Brajesh Pathak, to ensure exemplary punishment and tighten oversight to prevent such scams from recurring.