2 min readRaipurMar 14, 2026 08:25 PM IST
On Friday afternoon, a 25-year-old man in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district received a phone call from the ‘police’. The caller spoke sternly, accusing of having information about a woman who had allegedly eloped with a man and warned him to cooperate or face action.
Hours after this call, Sanat Kumar Kashyap was no more — he died by suicide.
As police probed his death, they found that the person who made the call was not a police officer but a driver named Sachine Khare (30). He has now been arrested for impersonation.
Police said Khare’s 21-year-old sister had gone missing and it was suspected she had eloped with a person who was friends with Kashyap. Police said the accused suspected Kashyap had information about his sister and called him up to get leads on her. However, he posed as a policeman from the Pantora Outpost of the Baloda Police Station.
In a purported audio recording of the conversation that surfaced later, Khare, in a stern voice, can be heard saying in Chhattisgarhi: “Give me all the information about you or come to the police station and meet me… I am dealing with this guy now and will deal with you later. Think twice before switching off your phone.”
Terrified, Kashyap recorded a video message describing the incident and sent it to his friends before his death. He had also recorded the phone call itself, which later helped the police to identify the accused during their probe.
Police detained Khare.
Superintendent of Police, Janjgir-Champa district, Vijay Kumar Pandey, said, “The accused threatened him [Kashyap] and ordered him to appear at the police station. Out of fear, the deceased took the extreme step.”
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“We have arrested Khare. During questioning, he admitted to the crime,” added Pandey.
Following the incident, an FIR was registered under Section 204 (personating a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Police also said a missing person’s report for the accused’s sister has been registered at the Kusmunda Police Station in Korba district.
