Man sneaks into NCC squadron wearing army uniform in Delhi, held

The man was caught when he answered his credentials wrongly on being questioned. Police said, since the national capital is on high alert for Independence Day, he was interrogated at length by the police as well as by intelligence agencies.

A 19-year-old man, who aspired to join the armed forces, was caught by the police when he tried to sneak into the premises of Remount and Veterinary (R&V) squadron of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in south Delhi’s Gadaipur on Monday, wearing the uniform of an army lieutenant.

Soldiers arrive to take their position in front of Red Fort for the celebration of the Independence Day, in New Delhi, India on Wednesday, August 15, 2018. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

The man was caught when he answered his credentials wrongly on being questioned. Police said, since the national capital is on high alert for Independence Day, he was interrogated at length by the police as well as by intelligence agencies.

Police have identified the man as Nitesh Kumar Jha, who lives in Chhatarpur with his parents. Senior police officers said that it was around 4pm on Monday, when Jha arrived at the R&V squadron complex and introduced him as Lt. Nitesh Kumar Jha. “When he entered the complex, he was questioned by the commanding officer.
During the conversation, Jha said that he is a trained NCC cadet, but failed to explain why he was wearing an Army Lieutenant’s uniform. When we questioned him repeatedly on why he had come to the R&V unit, he did not give any satisfactory answer. Since similar alerts of terrorists using defence officers’ uniform were issued before Independence Day, we reported the matter to the police,” said an officer from the squadron, who was not authorised to speak to the media.

An FIR was lodged in this regard by Col SD Gangwar, the commanding officer of the R&V squadron of NCC.

Deputy commissioner of police (south), Romil Baaniya said that the man was caught and booked under section 171 of the Indian Penal Code for wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent.

“Since the incident took place close to the Independence Day, he was jointly interrogated, as a precautionary measure. Nothing suspicious was found. He told police that he has completed his school and now wants to join the army,” the DCP added.

Police was also on high alert on Monday as a man, wearing the uniform of an Indian Air Force officer, was spotted near Rajiv Chowk metro station.

The man was spotted by a retired air force officer, who saw him wearing sports shoes with the uniform and questioned him. On being questioned, the suspect ran away and the retired officer alerted the Delhi Police.

Man held for trying to enter Red Fort

A 22-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad was caught by security personnel while trying to enter the Red Fort premises without a valid pass on Wednesday morning, minutes before Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to address the nation.

The man was interrogated for many hours by police and intelligence agencies. Till late Wednesday evening, he was yet to be let off by the police. Police said they have contacted his family members because the man appeared to be “mentally unstable.”