Delhi Satellite City Shaken by Fake Crime-Fighting Syndicate
Posers in Uniform Collected Hush-Money for Two Weeks
In the humming lanes of Noida’s Sector 63, an ordinary glass-and-steel office suddenly found itself on the wrong end of an early-morning raid. Officers from the Central Noida police burst through the doors of what had been boldly named the International Police and Crime Investigation Bureau. Inside, half-a-dozen young men—one sporting a faux-military crew cut—were caught leafing through forged ID badges and rubber stamps that bore the crest of every agency from Interpol to fictitious European crime labs.
The Ruse in Detail
- The team leased the 1,200 sq ft suite in late December, painted its walls a regulation khaki-gray, and installed mock security cams.
- A slick bilingual website urged citizens to “support justice” via voluntary donations ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2 lakh.
- Callers claimed pending arrest warrants could be quashed overnight if recipients “compensated” the bureau for investigative costs.
Evidence Haul Recovered
DCP Shakti Mohan Awasthy displayed the afternoon’s spoils on a folding table: eight android phones still buzzing with panicky voice notes, three slim checkbooks ready for signature, and a stack of laminated commissioner-level ID cards finished in royal blue.
Age and Education of the Accused
- 27-year-old commerce-turned-arts graduate styled himself “Chief Liaison Officer.”
- 26-year-old LL.B. drafted fake writ petitions to scare recipients.
- Three others aged 22–25 posed as cyber-crime analysts fluent in “Interpol protocol.”
- 57-year-old “senior liaison” used silver streaks and rimless spectacles to project bureaucratic gravitas.
Echo of an Earlier Scheme
The discovery lands barely a fortnight after another impostor was nabbed for running a phantom “West Arctic embassy” out of a semi-detached home near the capital. That con-man had promised work visas to fictional lands called Saborga, Poulvia and Lodonia. Authorities worry the trend heralds a new class of white-collar tricksters exploiting global brand-names in a city already bursting with real consulates and commissions.
