Fake Dr. Paridhi Slips into RaGa’s Inbox—Ctrl+Alt+Scam!

In a shocking revelation, an elaborate web of impersonation, fraud, and deception has come to light involving Dr. Paridhi Sarmah, who has been identified as the alleged mastermind behind one of the most intricate intellectual frauds in recent times. The individual at the centre of this scandal, Dhrubajyoti Saikia from Sivasagar, Assam, is accused of orchestrating a complex network of deception.

The controversy first surfaced in July 2024 when Dr. Paridhi Sarmah allegedly approached a prominent anti-corruption crusader from Assam via WhatsApp, sharing what was claimed to be Rahul Gandhi’s personal email ID—communications@rahulgandhi—and urged him to mail all documents regarding corruption in the state directly to the Congress leader. The anti-corruption activist had been introduced to senior Congress leader KC Venugopal during a morning walk in Delhi, where discussions surrounding Assam and ongoing anti-corruption movements took place. Sarmah convinced the activist to send an email, sharing the ID at 12:08 PM on July 10, 2024.

Despite not sending the email, ultimately, the activist was struck by the extensive political network and influence Sarmah seemed to wield. Over time, Dr. Sarmah continued to call him, occasionally asking for patience while making emotional appeals, saying, "My daughter has been crying a lot," further masking her real identity.

Further investigations have revealed that Dr. Paridhi Sarmah was merely one of the aliases used by Dhrubajyoti Saikia. In fact, Saikia had used another alias, “Shankhalina Sharma Choudhury,” back in 2020 for a similar fraudulent scheme where he allegedly posed as a former Cotton College professor’s student to solicit donations. The Facebook account created under this false identity featured photos of Karnataka IPS officer D. Roopa. This led to a formal complaint and the case making national headlines on December 25, 2020.

The scale of the recent impersonation scheme is far broader. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Saikia, under the name Dr. Paridhi Sarmah, allegedly reached out to Congress candidate Mira Borthakur Goswami from Guwahati, offering financial assistance. Claiming that her husband was a senior forest official, he sought Barthakur's bank details and encouraged her close associates to support her election campaign financially. Although Barthakur rejected the offer, funds were still collected from several individuals, and a WhatsApp group was created in Dr. Sarmah's name to raise money for purported charitable purposes.

Sources indicate that Dr. Sarmah took full advantage of articles published under her name in newspapers and on social media to gain public trust. These writings, often critical of the government, helped her build a reputation as a fearless, well-informed voice of dissent. However, behind the apparent activism, there lay a carefully constructed fraud operation built on meticulous research, impersonations, and emotional manipulation.

The ongoing CID investigation is now focusing on whether Saikia acted alone or if there was a larger syndicate at play. Saikia, a mathematics graduate, is also known for authoring complex articles on politics, literature, economics, law, and sociology—leading investigators to suspect that this fraud might have been part of a larger intellectual racket exploiting him as a figurehead.

When questioned, Saikia allegedly claimed that his "intimacy" was not bad—an apparent misuse of the term "intention"—which raised further questions about the incoherence of his defense. As the investigation deepens, more layers of deception continue to unfold.

Law enforcement agencies are now tasked with determining whether Dhrubajyoti Saikia was merely a pawn in a larger intellectual fraud syndicate. If the investigation proves that Saikia was part of a greater operation, it could mark one of India’s most sophisticated intellectual frauds.

Also Read: CID Unmasks ‘Dr. Paridhi Sarmah’: Fake Identity Used to Deceive Assam’s Intellectual Circles