7 held for posing as CBI officers to raid businessman in northwest Delhi

The gang is believed to have carried out two-three similar fake raids in Delhi, Mumbai and Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Seven people were arrested for allegedly posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials and attempting a fake raid at the house of a timber businessman in northwest Delhi’s Prashant Vihar on August 11, police said on Monday.

Eight mobile phones, clothing with a CBI monogram, and screenshots of purported fake identity cards were seized from the accused, officials said

According to Shashank Jaiswal, deputy commissioner of police (Rohini), the complainant, Pratham Aggarwal, informed police around 10pm on August 11 that he was at his Prashant Vihar residence with his mother when a group of six men and two women arrived, identified themselves as CBI officials, showed purported ID cards, and demanded entry to conduct a raid. When the occupants asked for proper authorisation or a search warrant, the accused allegedly threatened and intimidated them.

“The people remained outside the house for nearly one-and-a-half hours, creating fear and apprehension. When neighbours intervened, they allegedly claimed that a notice had been issued to Aggarwal’s father. They left on the pretext of getting the notice from their vehicle. Later, a purported CBI notice was sent to Aggarwal’s father’s mobile phone. The complainant alleged the notice was forged,” Jaiswal said.

Police said a case under sections 308 (extortion), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at Prashant Vihar police station, and an investigation was initiated. Through technical analysis and CCTV footage scanning, seven suspects were identified and arrested last week.

The accused were identified as Kuldeep Sharma, 63, who earlier worked with the complainant and handled his bank-related work; the two alleged masterminds – Asifa, 29, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, and Pooja, in her 20s; Chander Prakash Sharma, 38; Shubham alias Golu, 25; Rajveer Singh, 21; and Nitin Sharma, 30.

Eight mobile phones, clothing with a CBI monogram, and screenshots of purported fake identity cards were seized from the accused, officials said. The gang is believed to have carried out two-three similar fake raids in Delhi, Mumbai and Jammu and Kashmir, police added.

“Digital material collected in the case indicated suspected similar raids in Delhi and Mumbai by the accused while posing as CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other government agency officials. We are investigating the complete network, other possible victims, digital and financial trails, and the source of the forged documents,” DCP Jaiswal said.

Interrogation revealed that the gang allegedly followed a modus operandi of impersonating CBI officials, approaching selected targets, displaying purported ID cards or documents, and conducting or attempting fake raids to intimidate victims and extort money or valuables, police said.

“In the present case, Kuldeep allegedly provided target-related information and address, Asifa and Pooja coordinated the purported raid, and Pooja arranged additional persons through Chander for the execution,” Jaiswal added.