Lucknow, Dec. 7 -- A man and his brother from Lucknow accused a man posing as a senior home department official of cheating them of Rs.40 lakh over the promise of securing govt contracts and employment. The accused, identified as Sarvesh Kumar alias Sarvesh Kumar Yadav, a native of Nawabganj, Barabanki, allegedly operated a long-running fraud racket by impersonating a state govt official, using fake identity cards, official logos on his vehicles, and a network of associates to win the victims' confidence. According to the complaint filed by Itesh Kumar and his brother Saurabh, the accused lived as a tenant on the floor above their rented accommodation in Vinit Khand, Gomti Nagar. Introducing himself as "SK Singh, secretary in the home department, UP Secretariat," Sarvesh frequently visited their house in full official attire and moved around in cars bearing the UP govt emblem. The complainant stated that Sarvesh used multiple vehicles including a Swift Dzire, Hyundai Aura, a black Scorpio, and most recently a XUV700 and claimed to be posted in Lucknow while originally belonging to Gorakhpur. He lived with his wife and children, who attended a nearby school, further strengthening his credibility. Believing his claims, they transferred Rs.40 lakh to various bank accounts identified by the accused. These accounts belonged to Suraj Kumar, Durgesh Kumar Verma, Jafar, Karuna Shankar, Sumit Kumar, Subham Kumar, and Dhanman Singh. Sarvesh was often accompanied by two associates Sandeep Awasthi, who posed as a review officer in the Secretariat, and Ankita, introduced as Awasthi's personal assistant. Both regularly attended the meetings, verified documents, and assured the victims that govt files were under process. During inquiry, the victims discovered that Sarvesh was arrested in 2019 for a similar scam, also involving promises of govt jobs in the Secretariat. In that case, filed on a complaint by a retired judge, he was found using a vehicle with a fake number plate. DCP, east, Shashank Singh, said that an FIR under the charges of BNS 318 (4) (cheating) against the named accused....