Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana (File) The Delhi Police Cyber Cell has registered an FIR based on a complaint of an imposter posing as an official in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). A designer and manufacturer of furniture items had alleged on social media that he had received an e-mail from an official asking for a table specifically for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana took to Twitter to post a screenshot of the e-mails exchanged between the impersonator and the designer. “We have received a complaint regarding forgery, impersonation and identity fraud of an office bearer at the Prime Minister’s Office. Matter is under investigation,” he said from his official Twitter handle, and tagged the PMO and the Home Minister’s Office (HMO).
We have received a complaint regarding forgery, impersonation and identity fraud of an office bearer at the Prime Minister’s Office. Matter is under investigation.@PMOIndia @HMOIndia pic.twitter.com/1r1mhPCvoX
— CP Delhi #DilKiPolice (@CPDelhi) April 15, 2022
The incident came to light after a designer identified as Kunal Merchant claimed on Instagram that he had received an e-mail from one Vivek Kumar, who posed as the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister and asked him to design a table specifically for the PM.
According to the screenshots shared by Merchant on his Instagram stories, Kumar approached him via e-mail.
“In his e-mail, Kumar asked Merchant to design and build a permanent installation/executive table for the exclusive use of the Prime Minister. He also shared a phone number in the e-mail, and Merchant was asked to get in touch at the earliest to discuss plans and design work,” a senior police officer said.
“Merchant posted a screenshot of his e-mail declining the offer due to his political and ideological differences. We immediately lodged an FIR after we found all these messages. Merchant was also contacted by our team. We are verifying all the facts and checking from where the e-mail was generated,” an officer said.
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