Rajkot, September 12, 2026 — Rajkot City Police have arrested a 33-year-old man who allegedly impersonated a Squadron Leader of the Indian Air Force’s Suryakiran Aerobatics Team and cheated a woman of ₹1.95 lakh on the false promise of securing her a job in the Air Force.
The accused has been identified as Prateek Bharadwaj, a resident of Rajkot who works at a local travel agency. He was taken into custody on Friday, September 11, by a team from the Gandhigram-2 (University) Police Station after a technical analysis of the online fraud. Police said he was living in a rented house at D-32, Shantiniketan Park-4, Nanavati Chowk. Two mobile phones were seized during the arrest.
How the alleged fraud unfolded
According to police, the complainant, a woman in her mid-twenties originally from Rajkot and presently working in Gandhinagar, contacted Bharadwaj after seeing his Instagram profile. The profile photograph showed him in what appeared to be an Indian Air Force uniform. The account also carried numerous videos of IAF aircraft and of the Suryakiran Aerobatics Team (SKAT), including footage of the unit’s 30th raising day on May 26, 2026, as well as Independence Day, Republic Day and airshow performances. Posts on the account date from February 2025 onwards.
Bharadwaj allegedly told the woman that he was a Squadron Leader in the Flying Branch of Squadron 52, posted at Bidar Air Force Station in Karnataka — the actual home base of SKAT. After gaining her confidence, he promised to arrange her recruitment in the Air Force and induced her to transfer money online in instalments, citing purported charges such as document verification, medical tests, training and uniform fees. The transfers totalled ₹1.95 lakh. When no appointment materialised, she realised she had been deceived.
Complaint and investigation
The woman lodged a complaint on September 4 through the national cyber helpline 1930. The matter was first recorded as an e-Zero FIR under Gujarat Police’s recently launched cyber reporting mechanism and was then transferred to the Gandhigram-2 (University) Police Station in Rajkot. The initiative, introduced in late August 2026, allows a complaint made on 1930 to be registered as a Zero FIR and moved to the competent station. Officials described this as among the first such e-Zero FIRs transferred to Rajkot City Police.
A case has been registered under Sections 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 319(2) (cheating by personation) and 204 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act (cheating by personation using a computer resource).
Assistant Commissioner of Police (West) R. S. Bariya said Bharadwaj is not an Air Force officer and works at a travel agency in Rajkot. He added that the accused had uploaded several SKAT videos on Instagram, allegedly to support the impersonation. Inspector K. K. Gohil of Gandhigram-2 Police Station said Bharadwaj made little effort to conceal his real identity or mobile number, which suggested this may have been his first such recruitment fraud. Investigators, however, noted two earlier cases against him under Gujarat’s Prohibition Act.
Police stated that the probe was conducted under Inspector Gohil’s supervision, with ASI Sanjaybhai Thakar, Head Constable Rahul Thakur, Constable Savanbhai Vasoya and other personnel. Technical analysis established the accused’s identity. Further inquiry is under way to determine whether other job seekers were targeted, how the money was used, and whether any co-accused were involved. Financial records are being examined.
Squadron 52 of the Indian Air Force, known as the Suryakiran Aerobatics Team, is based at Bidar Air Force Station. Police emphasised that recruitment to the IAF follows prescribed official procedures and is not arranged through private social-media contacts or informal “internal settings.”
Authorities have advised the public to treat unsolicited job offers from persons claiming to be defence officers on Instagram or similar platforms with caution, to verify identities through official channels, and to report suspected cyber fraud immediately on 1930.
