Chandigarh, Aug. 26 -- For nearly two years, a conman managed to live a double life in Chandigarh, posing as an Army Major, strutting inside police offices, and even drawing salutes from unsuspecting policemen. The charade finally ended when the crime branch arrested the accused, identified as Ganesh Bhatt, a native of Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, now residing in Panchkula.

Bhatt's audacity lay in exploiting his closeness with a CIA inspector. Borrowing the inspector's government vehicle, driver, and even a gunman, he roamed around the city projecting the stature of a decorated officer. He regularly sat in the crime branch office alongside the inspector, who allegedly introduced him to colleagues as his "cousin."

Behind this facade, Bhatt ...