Two men allegedly posing as senior officials of the ministry of external affairs ( MEA ) entered a hotel in Gomti Nagar around 1 am on August 15 and allegedly held staff and guests captive while claiming they had come to conduct a search, police said on Monday. The investigation has since led to the recovery of 478 fake MEA ID cards and other documents.
The accused introduced themselves as senior MEA officials and said they wanted to inspect the premises, according to a complaint filed by hotel manager Kumar Sarvottam Pathak. He also claimed to be the consul/ambassador of micronation countries like Seborga, Ladonia, and a fictitious country called Poulvia. He also had four luxury vehicles that illegally sported diplomatic registration plates.
The incident took place in Vikas Khand-3.
Police said sections relating to cheating, forgery and possession or use of forged documents were added to the FIR after evidence was collected during the investigation. Last year, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested a 47-year-old fraudster for operating a fake embassy of ” Westarctica ” from a rented house in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar locality. The police said that Jain converted his office in an upscale Ghaziabad neighbourhood into a fake consulate by hoisting flags of different micronations. During a raid at the “embassy”, the police found ₹ 44.7 lakh in cash and foreign currency with an exchange value of around ₹ 30 lakh.
