These were the allegations levelled by suspended city police Head Constable Zahid Parvez Khan when Newsline approached him to find out the details pertaining to the Negi episode. Negi was arrested last month after he reportedly befooled the city police, mixing with the cops at various police stations. Following this, Khan and Sub-Inspector Rakesh Shukla were suspended and a departmental inquiry was initiated against the two, along with three other policemen.

However, Khan feels he is not to be blamed. "I am only being made a scapegoat; there's a conspiracy against me. Most of the senior officers knew that an impostor was in the city. But none took it seriously," he said.

"It was their big failure; they do not deserve to be kept in the police," he said. He stressed that the police are still unable to ascertain Negi's motive behind personating as an IPS officer. "Does it not sound ridiculous that he did all this to please his mother?... He was surely here on some mission," he said, but said he was unaware of what that mission was.

Recalling his first meeting with Negi on September 14, he said he was introduced to him by another head constable while he was on beat duty in Sector 28. "They were in a Police Control Room Gypsy; I thought he was a civilian. HC Balbir Singh, who was accompanying him, whispered: `New SP sahib', and I saluted him."

"He came again twice the same day and asked me if I had any conveyance and could drop him in Sector 17 later in the day. I told him that I only had a scooter and he said it would do," said Khan.

"However, I thought I should arrange a car as he was an officer after all. And I got a Maruti from one of my close friends, who are into tailoring in Sector 17. It was their cars which I used for Negi later as well."

The two went to the Sector 17 police post, Sector 22 police post, Manimajra police station and Sector 26 police station. Khan conceded that many people, including officers, were made to believe that Negi was an IPS because of Khan's uniform and revolver that he was carrying.

"But how am I to be blamed? I thought he was an officer and because of that I had to go every time he called me. I told my SHO that he did not look like an IPS officer. Still he never stopped me from going for Negi's work. He told me that he had checked it out with the DSP and that the SP had been informed about it," said Khan.

"The SP is learnt to have told them that no such IPS was in town as per his information. That is why Negi wrote unkindly of the official in his report. But then should the SP, DSP and the SHO not have tried to nab the man? I also told the munshi, who is close to a senior official's PA. He said the man is genuine. Can you believe that nobody ever dared to check it out with the IGP or the SSP." Of all the police personnel who were with Negi, Khan is believed to have spent a major chunk of time with him. Negi even claimed that he had told Khan the very first day that he was an impostor and that it was Khan who spurred him to carry on the "drama".

Khan, however, denies it. "Why should I," he asks. "It's a police's twisted version." He added that he faces a threat to his life as some policemen, particularly an ASI and a constable, were trying to kill him.

He said had it been possible to approach senior officials directly, he would have conveyed his doubts regarding Negi's credentials the first day itself.