Fake MEA officials hold guests captive at Lucknow hotel, detained; 478 forged IDs recovered

According to a complaint filed by hotel manager, the accused introduced themselves as senior MEA officials and said they wanted to inspect the premises.

Two men allegedly posing as senior officials of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) entered a hotel in Gomti Nagar around 1 am on August 15 and allegedly held staff and guests captive while claiming they had come to conduct a search, police said on Monday. The investigation has since led to the recovery of 478 fake MEA ID cards and other documents.

Police said sections relating to cheating, forgery and possession or use of forged documents were added to the FIR. (Representational)

The accused were identified as Abhinav Singh, 29, a resident of Noida and Shivam Chauhan, 29, from Meerut.

The incident took place in Vikas Khand-3. According to a complaint filed by hotel manager Kumar Sarvottam Pathak, the accused introduced themselves as senior MEA officials and said they wanted to inspect the premises.

When staff asked them to show their identities and official IDs, the men allegedly abused and threatened them. They allegedly locked the reception gate, seized employees’ mobile phones and forcibly took two staffers inside after grabbing them by the neck, the complaint stated.

Police said sections relating to cheating, forgery and possession or use of forged documents were added to the FIR after evidence was collected during the investigation.

Ghaziabad man operated fake embassies

Last year, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested a 47-year-old fraudster for operating a fake embassy of "Westarctica" from a rented house in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar locality. He also claimed to be the consul/ambassador of micronation countries like Seborga, Ladonia, and a fictitious country called Poulvia.

The police said that Jain converted his office in an upscale Ghaziabad neighbourhood into a fake consulate by hoisting flags of different micronations. He also had four luxury vehicles that illegally sported diplomatic registration plates.

During a raid at the “embassy”, the police found ₹44.7 lakh in cash and foreign currency with an exchange value of around ₹30 lakh.

They also found four luxury cars, including an Audi and a Mercedes, 20 fake VIP registration number plates for diplomats, 12 fake passports, two PAN cards, 34 stamps from different countries, 12 premium watches, a laptop, a mobile phone, and other documents.