Pune, Maharashtra – In a perplexing turn of events, a criminal with a history of multiple offenses has recently been booked for impersonation after driving around with the title “Former Union Textile Minister” displayed on his car’s rear windscreen. The charges were filed on Tuesday based on a complaint from a land developer, revealing a web of deceit surrounding the suspect, Shivanand Hulyalkar.
Senior Inspector Vipin Hasabnis of the Deccan Gymkhana police disclosed, “The suspect, Shivanand Hulyalkar, is already wanted in connection with a forgery and cheating complaint filed by a woman from Apte Road in July 2023. We have been actively searching for him since then.”
Police Sub-Inspector Ganesh More added, “Hulyalkar has a criminal record with at least 12 cases, including sexual assault, forgery, and cheating, registered against him in Pune city and rural areas, Mumbai, Satara, and Karnataka. Mumbai police had previously arrested him in a rape case in 2016, and he had secured his release on bail. We are in the process of gathering details about his other cases, including his arrest and bail history.”
The intricate saga began in March 2020 when Hulyalkar rented a room in an Apte Road flat owned by a woman. “Under the pretext of registering a rent agreement, Hulyalkar took the flat’s original documents, forged them with the owner’s signatures, and falsely portrayed that she had sold him the flat. The forged document was then submitted to the sub-registrar’s office, and the original documents were returned,” explained More.
“In February and March 2021, the flat owner, in need of money, discussed the potential sale of her property with the complainant land developer. Initial negotiations involved Hulyalkar, but the suspect vanished thereafter,” the officer continued.
“The developer proceeded to pay the flat owner for the property, and both parties initiated the registration process for the sale transaction. However, they hit a roadblock as the flat was falsely shown as sold to a third party in the records, uncovering the cheating and forgery,” More disclosed.
In July 2023, the flat owner filed a complaint regarding the fraudulent activities. Subsequently, the land developer, suspicious of Hulyalkar’s claimed ministerial status, filed an RTI application. The investigation revealed that Hulyalkar had never been a minister nor had any association with the government. This discovery led to a separate complaint of impersonation against Hulyalkar on Tuesday.
