Police say that the accused was engaged in brokering deals by falsely promising job placements for companies and individuals in foreign countries.
LUCKNOW: The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested a man from Ghaziabad for allegedly operating a fake embassy from a rented house in Kavi Nagar, a senior police officer said.
The UP STF arrested the accused on Tuesday. “The accused, identified as Harshvardhan Jain, had been operating an illegal diplomatic mission from a rented house in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar,” said Additional Director General (Law & Order) Amitabh Yash.
The STF raided a house at KB 35, Kavi Nagar, where Harshvardhan Jain had allegedly set up a fake embassy named the West Arctic Embassy. Yash added that Jain, a resident of Kavi Nagar locality, claimed to be the consul or ambassador of entities such as ‘Westarctica’, ‘Saborga’, ‘Lodonia’ and Poulvia, the UP Police said.
The ADG elaborated, saying that a consul is a government official residing in a foreign country to represent the interests of their home country and its citizens.
“They handled various tasks like issuing visas, renewing passports, and providing assistance to citizens abroad, while also promoting trade relations,” he maintained.
According to police sources, the accused had been using diplomatic number plates on his vehicles and had allegedly morphed his photographs with prominent figures, including the Prime Minister and the President, to build trust and impress people.
As per ADG Yash, Jain’s main activities allegedly included brokering deals for companies and individuals to work abroad and running a hawala racket through shell companies.
“Investigations revealed Harshvardhan Jain’s past connections with godman Chandraswami and weapon trader Adnan Khagoshi, an international arms dealer,” Yash averred.
“In 2011, Harshvardhan Jain was found with illegal satellite phones, and a case was registered against him at the Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad,” said the ADG.
The police officer said that the Noida unit of the UP STF seized over ₹44 lakh in cash, foreign currency of several countries, four vehicles with diplomatic number plates, 18 diplomatic number plates, 12 diplomatic passports of micro-nations, forged documents with the seal of the Ministry of External Affairs, two fake PAN cards, 34 seals of various countries and companies, two fake press cards, and documents of various companies from the house of the accused.
A case has been registered at the Kavi Nagar police station in Ghaziabad, and further legal proceedings are underway, the officer said.
Source: The New Indian Express
