CBI registers case against Jharkhand artiste who forged PM’s signature

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked a Jharkhand artiste who allegedly forged the Prime Minister’s signature and letterhead to promote himself, but inadvertently alerted the PMO about his fraud.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against a Jharkhand artiste who allegedly forged the Prime Minister’s signature and letterhead to promote himself, but inadvertently alerted the PMO about his fraud.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked a Jharkhand artiste who allegedly forged the Prime Minister’s signature and letterhead to promote himself. (HT File Photo)

The accused, Pandit Swaraj Kumar Roy, a guitarist, fabricated the PM’s signature and letterhead to convey that he had been invited to perform classical music at the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations in the country’s capital, according to a CBI source.

After fabricating the signature, the accused sent the fake invitation card in his name to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) that promptly referred the matter to the CBI as it suspected foul play, according to the source.

The agency has questioned the suspect, and is examining the motive behind his act and if he had planned to gain “pecuniary advantage” out of it, the source said.

The agency carried out searches in Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand and Bishnupur in West Bengal. The searches yielded from the premises of the accused “a large number of incriminating forged documents and articles relating to forgery of the signatures of the Prime Minister of India,” said the source.