Man arrested for impersonating as Navy officer

A man who moved around Kochi impersonating as a naval officer was arrested by the police on Wednesday.

A defence communication said Raja Nath, 23, hailing from Nadia in West Bengal, was travelling to various places in naval uniform and uploaded videos on TikTok posing as a Lieutenant in the Indian Navy. This is the second such incident reported from Kochi recently, said a Navy spokesperson.

In the backdrop of the incident, the Navy has approached the State government with a request that unauthorised sale of armed forces’ uniform may be outlawed in the State.

According to the Navy, the accused in the latest case, Mr. Nath, arrived in the city in October last year and was residing at an apartment on Water Tank Road, Mattummel, Thevara. He had got uniforms made from shops in Kochi, the Navy said.

The police booked him under Section 140 of the IPC for impersonation and also recovered naval uniforms and badges from his residence.

A similar incident was reported a few months ago, also under the Thevara police station limits, when a person named Nibit Daniel had posed as a Commander of the Navy. He, too, had got his uniforms stitched locally.

The Navy said impersonation as Services personnel was a cognizable offence, and that stringent measures would be taken against those resorting to it.