Investigation revealed that the imposter hailed from Andhra Pradesh's Vishakhapatnam
An imposter masquerading as a high-rank army officer tried to enter Fort William, Indian Army's Eastern Command headquarters in Kolkata, yesterday. However, his attempt was foiled when he couldn't write down his particulars in the officer's entry register.
The imposter, who was posing as an Army Major, arrived at the Fort William in a black BMW, driven by a chauffeur. At the entry gate, he showed an ID card on his phone. The ID card said Major MS Chauhan of the 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) unit. He was then asked to enter his particulars in the officer's entry register; however, he kept referring to his mobile number while making the entry. This is when the on-duty military cop suspected something fishy and informed the control room.
After investigation, it was revealed that he is actually from Andhra Pradesh's Vishakhapatnam. He turned out to be a habitual offender and was lodged in Odisha's juvenile home from September 2023 till February 2024.
On February 13, after his release, the imposter stayed at Hotel Pride in Cuttack. He duped the hotel of Rs 6,393 and left. He travelled ticketless to Howrah Railway Station on March 14 and took a cab to the airport. On his way, he called Hotel JW Marriot to send a cab to pick him up from the airport and stayed there. He then hired the BMW cab from the hotel and told the driver that he was an army officer empaneled with the President's Bodyguard regiment.
The cab driver trusted him and requested to get his daughter enrolled in Jadavpur University under defence quota. After a trip to the university, they went to Fort William for further formalities. There, his pretence was caught and he was handed over to the police.
The imposter had made false digital payments at many luxury hotels, and shops. He would do an online payment through BHIM app and edit the initial confirmation message for further payments.
His JW Marriott hotel room was searched by the staff but no personal belongings or documents were found. However, he checked in to hotels in both Cuttack and Kolkata using another ID card that said Constable Sunil Kumar of Hyderabad State Police.
The imposter claims to be a 24-year-old BTech student but there is no clarification on that.