Delhi Police arrest Odisha journalist for creating fake email ID, posing as UP CM

The accused, Manoj Kumar Seth (41), has been arrested from Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

According to the police, they received a complaint from the chief minister’s office in 2016 against unknown persons who created a fake email id in the name of Yogi Adityanath and sent emails to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL), the Power Grid Corporation of India, etc seeking advertisements for local newspapers.

A senior police officer said, “We had registered a case and analysed the said email to understand the motive. All the letters sent had forged signatures of CM Yogi. The emails were sent to central government agencies seeking advertisements in local newspapers like Breaking News.”

The investigating team identified the accused by tracking the IP address used to send the emails. Manoj knew his plan wasn’t working and frequently changed his hideouts to evade arrest, the police said. Several raids were conducted in Delhi, Odisha and other states, but he managed to escape.

Recently, a team led by ACP Raman Lamba under DCP Cyber Cell KPS Malhotra found that Manoj was hiding in Bhubaneswar. “We sent a team and nabbed him on Friday. He was brought to Delhi and arrested,” the police said.

During interrogation, Manoj said he is a freelance journalist and owns a newspaper called ‘Samaj Aina’. He claimed to have created the fake email and prepared the forged letters to seek advertisements in his local newspaper. He allegedly forced the agencies to give him ads.

The cops also found that he is involved in a case of extortion at Chaliya Ganj in Cuttack.