In a shocking case that blurs the lines between fiction and real life, Rapa Sai Prashanth, a man in his 20s from Telangana, allegedly orchestrated a virtual interview fraud to land a job at Infosys. Inspired by the Tamil movie Dragon, Prashanth reportedly arranged for someone to impersonate him during the interview process conducted remotely.
After uploading his resume through a job portal, Prashanth’s application was forwarded to Infosys by a recruiter at Sampradaa Software Technologies. Documents were vetted, the interview happened virtually, and the impersonator sailed through. Infosys extended an offer letter on January 20, 2025.
Cracks Appear in the Illusion: Suspicion Sets In
Just days after Prashanth joined the company, colleagues began noticing something strange. Despite having a seemingly strong academic background, he fumbled during basic conversations and struggled to communicate in English — which he had spoken fluently in the interview. Alarm bells rang.
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An internal investigation ensued. HR personnel compared screenshots of the virtual interview with his real appearance. The mismatch confirmed it — someone else had attended the interview. A senior police officer later told Times of India that this inconsistency prompted deeper scrutiny, unraveling the scam.
From Firing to Demanding Compensation — And a Police Case
Infosys terminated Prashanth’s employment and he returned to Hyderabad. But in a bizarre turn of events, he is reportedly demanding compensation for the 15 days he worked at the company. The police have charged him under the IT Act and Sections 318 (cheating) and 319 (cheating by impersonation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The case has once again spotlighted the risks of virtual hiring and interview-based impersonation — a pattern seen in other cases too. In 2017, two men in Gurugram were arrested for appearing in place of candidates in a teacher recruitment exam. Similar incidents occurred during the 2016 Uttarakhand Ayurveda Test and the infamous AIIMS entrance scam in 2012.
A Wake-Up Call for India’s Tech Hiring Ecosystem
The Infosys impersonation scam has ignited conversations around the security of virtual recruitment, the role of third-party staffing agencies, and the increasing sophistication of digital deception. Experts argue for stricter protocols — including multi-factor authentication, biometric checks, and AI-based facial recognition — to prevent such cases in the future.