Arrested for posing as officer: At IB office, a man who lied to his wife

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A 32-year-old man has found himself in police custody after he walked into the Intelligence Bureau’s headquarters posing as a high-ranking officer. But once his con was called out, he explained that he had lied about having the IB job to his wife and parents, and wanted to keep up the pretense.

Besides a fake IB identity card which mentions his designation as the Direct Commission Intelligence Officer, police have recovered two other ID cards from his possession — one belonging to the Haryana Public Service Commission and another of the SSP of Haryana.

Confirming his arrest, B K Singh, DCP (New Delhi) said, “We have arrested Praveen Hooda (32), who hails from Kiloi Dopana village in Haryana, and has been staying at a rented accommodation in Uttam Nagar area. He is married and has two children. Further investigation is underway.”

“After reaching Gate 5, which can be arrived at only after crossing a special security layer, he showed his identity card. But on scanning it for details, the security officers found it suspicious. They informed their seniors, who, upon inspection, found the card to be a fake,” police sources said.

Within minutes, S K Rajawat, deputy central intelligence officer (security branch), informed Delhi Police. “A high-alert message of intrusion was sounded,” sources said, adding that it led to some tense moments.

“He told police he was unable to get a job. Since his parents were worried, he lied to them and told them he had got a job with the IB. He kept up the lie even when he got married,” sources said.

He also told police that he learnt to make fake ID cards, and then procured the IB insignia, logo and other details from the internet. A Delhi court Tuesday remanded him in police custody for three days.