Mumbai Man Held With Fake PMO ID Wanted to Impress Fiancée, Say Police

A 24-year-old man arrested in Mumbai with a forged identity card purporting to be from the Prime Minister's Office allegedly devised the deception to present himself as a powerful government functionary before his fiancée and her family, investigators have found.

Rohan Parikh and his bodyguard, Dilip Kunde, were taken into custody on Monday from a shopping mall in Bandra Kurla Complex, close to the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre where the Prime Minister was attending an event. While Parikh was carrying the fake PMO card, Kunde was found with a gun.

The incident initially raised alarm among security agencies, but the motive that has since emerged is personal rather than terror-related. Parikh, who got engaged recently, is believed to have wanted his fiancée and her family to believe that he enjoyed direct access to the PMO and held considerable influence in the central government.

According to the investigation, Parikh used artificial intelligence tools in 2025 to produce a convincing digital identity card modelled on an official PMO credential. To reinforce the impression of authority, he allegedly planned to reach Jio World Plaza shortly before the Prime Minister's visit, and had surveyed the location on his own twice in advance. His reported intention was to enter through a VVIP access point and demonstrate his supposed standing to his future in-laws.

Besides Parikh, the police have arrested his bodyguard and his driver in connection with the case, and are looking for a third person, Prathamesh Bagul, who worked as Parikh's office assistant. Cases have been registered under provisions relating to fraud, forgery and breach of VVIP security protocols. Further investigation is under way.