A high-security stretch of Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex saw a scare this week when a 24-year-old man was caught trying to walk into an event venue by posing as an official from the Prime Minister's Office. The spot was set to host the opening of the Global Fintech Fest, an event Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was due to inaugurate, so checks in the area were unusually tight. When guards examined the young man's identity card, it turned out to be fake, and he was detained along with an armed associate who had come with him.
An alarm at the metal detector unravelled everything
According to police, the first person to draw attention was Dilip Kunde, who set off the door-frame metal detector at the entrance. A search revealed he was carrying a firearm, and security personnel held him back at once. Kunde then called Rohan Parekh, who arrived at the spot and produced an identity card for the guards to see. That single moment turned into the twist that opened up the entire episode, as security's attention shifted squarely onto Parekh's card.
Who is the 24-year-old at the centre of it
Investigators say Rohan Parekh is 24 years old and comes from a well-off business family. He holds a graduate degree in science. The card he was carrying described him as a Grade-C officer attached to the Prime Minister's Office, but it did not hold up for long under the scrutiny of the guards on duty, and cracks in the story began showing within minutes.
The flaws that gave the fake card away
Officials noted that while the card carried an issue date, it had no expiry or validity date printed on it anywhere. It also bore what looked like a signature, but the designation of the person who had supposedly signed it was missing altogether. Those seemingly small but serious gaps deepened the suspicion of the security team, who alerted the police without delay. Mumbai's crime branch is now working to trace exactly who produced the card and how it travelled all the way to Parekh.
Why the lapse could not survive VVIP-level screening
Because the Prime Minister himself was scheduled to be at the venue that day, every visitor was passing through several layers of checks. That is precisely why a lapse as ordinary-looking as a missing validity date on the card did not slip past the security agencies. VVIP events typically put such documents through multiple rounds of verification, and it was this rigorous process that exposed Parekh's fake credentials before any harm was done.
A very different account emerges in court
When Parekh was produced before a Mumbai court, his lawyer offered a markedly different version of events. The defence argued that Parekh had not claimed to be a government official with any intent to deceive; rather, he genuinely believed he had been offered a role connected to the Prime Minister's Office. The lawyer told the court that a person identified as Tarun Kapoor had offered Parekh the position, and that an advisory role linked to one Mahak Gupta had also been floated. Police are now examining both of these names to establish who is actually behind the fraud.
The defence further told the court that Parekh had received an appointment letter, an identity card and a letter carrying what appeared to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's signature. He was also said to have received an email purportedly sent by an additional secretary to the Prime Minister.
A screenshot, not a physical card
His lawyer told the court that Parekh never actually held a printed, physical identity card. What he received, the defence said, was a screenshot, which he took to be genuine. A steady stream of official-looking documents and messages gradually convinced him that he had indeed become part of the Prime Minister's Office. Parekh has since handed over every document and message in his possession to investigators, and the defence claims he also shared details of his contacts with the PMO for verification.
'He had gone to buy perfume for his fiancée'
Another striking claim surfaced during the hearing. According to his lawyer, Parekh had not gone to the venue for any official reason at all, he had gone there to buy perfume for his fiancée. The lawyer added that Parekh suffers from a back ailment, which is why he lingered inside the premises for a while. When police later called him in for questioning, he cooperated fully.
In police custody until September 11
A Mumbai court has remanded Rohan Parekh to police custody until September 11. The crime branch is now trying to establish who created the fake identity card and how it reached him, and whether he was genuinely duped in a larger scam or is himself part of a planned conspiracy. Dilip Kunde is also being questioned further to establish the complete picture behind the weapon and his role in the episode.
