Mumbai Crime Branch has recently arrested a 60-year-old man from Versova area of Mumbai. He was arrested for allegedly possessing fake identity cards belonging to the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC).
The suspect, identified as Akhtar Qutubuddin Hussaini Ahmed, who also uses the alias Alexander Palmer, was found to be in possession of several fake passports, Aadhaar and PAN cards and BARC identity cards bearing the name Ali Raza Hussain.
Authorities also seized several suspicious documents, including 14 maps and alleged nuclear data.
ABPlive.com quoted police sources as saying that Akhtar was impersonating a BARC scientist under multiple aliases.
partner arrested
Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of accomplice Munajjil Khan, 34, on Monday. Khan, who runs a cyber café in Jharkhand, is believed to have helped Akhtar prepare fake documents, including educational certificates.
The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) investigation further revealed that Khan had allegedly prepared two fake passports for Akhtar’s brother, Adil Hussaini, using the address of their ancestral home in Jamshedpur – a property that was sold almost three decades ago in 1995. The two brothers, Akhtar and Adil, are suspected of traveling abroad using these false identities.
Akhtar, who had initially misled the authorities by claiming his brother was dead, has been sent to judicial custody till November 12. Khan will remain in police custody till November 1.
The police are currently interrogating the suspects to ascertain the motive behind making the fake documents and to ascertain whether any larger criminal network or wider criminal activity is involved in this operation.
The Crime Intelligence Unit is now tracing several international calls allegedly made by Akhtar in recent months. This activity has prompted suspicions of foreign connections potentially linked to alleged nuclear data found in his possession.
Officials are examining his call records to find out if he was in touch with foreign networks or handlers.
history of deception
The ongoing investigation has revealed that Akhtar has a decades-long history of fraud. In 2004, he was deported from Dubai after falsely claiming to be a scientist with access to “classified information”. Despite this setback, she continued to travel internationally, visiting places including Dubai and Tehran, using her forged passport and fake identity.
