Man held for forging NSG card to enter PM’s BKC rally

THE ACCUSED IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS A RANGER WITH THE ARMY’S GUARDS REGIMENT, AND CLAIMED HE WAS POSTED IN PATHANKOT

MUMBAI: The Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) police have arrested a 35-year-old man who allegedly tried to enter Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally on Thursday using a forged identity card in the name of the National Security Guard (NSG).

The accused, Rameshwar Mishra, a Navi Mumbai resident, claims to be a soldier with the Guards regiment of the Indian Army. The BKC police are verifying his claims. Mishra was intercepted by a team of police personnel who were manning an entry point at the MMRDA grounds. “Mishra was clad in a suit and had an ID card around his neck, which he showed us when he tried to enter. We examined it as per protocol and saw that it was valid from 2022 to 2025. However, these dates looked like they had been added after scratching out some content that had been on the card earlier. Further, the ribbon that the card was attached to said, ‘Delhi Police Security (PM)’, which raised our suspicions,” said an officer with the BKC police station.

The police team took Mishra aside and asked him about the discrepancies, after which he identified himself as a Ranger with the Guards regiment, and said that he was currently posted in Pathankot. He further said that he had served a deputation with the NSG from 2016 to 2019, which is when he claimed to have gotten the card.

“Mishra said he wanted to get into the venue so that he could arrange a meeting between his friends and some political leaders attending the rally. He thought that an NSG ID card would get him in immediately instead of going through the proper process, and hence he manipulated the validity dates on his old ID card. However, he could not produce his current Indian Army ID, nor could be explain the Delhi Police ribbon,” the officer said.

Mishra was subsequently taken to the police station and placed under arrest. He was produced in court on Friday and was remanded in police custody till January 26.

“Mishra gave us a contact number, supposedly of his superiors and we spoke to them. They confirmed that he was a Guards ranger. However, we need to verify that the people we spoke to are actually Indian Army officers and this process has been initiated. We have also found that his pregnant wife is in the Military Hospital in Colaba. Further course of action will be decided after his credentials are fully verified,” the officer said.