The Mumbai Crime Branch recently arrested a 60-year-old man in Mumbai’s Versova area. He was arrested for allegedly possessing forged identification documents associated with the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC).
The suspect, identified as Akhtar Qutubuddin Hussaini Ahmed, who also uses the alias Alexander Palmer, was found in possession of several forged passports, Aadhaar and PAN cards and BARC identity cards bearing the name Ali Raza Hussain.
Authorities also seized several suspicious documents, including 14 maps and alleged nuclear data.
Akhtar impersonated BARC scientists under various aliases, ABPlive.com reported citing police sources.
Accomplice arrested
A subsequent investigation led to the arrest of 34-year-old accomplice Munazzil Khan on Monday. Khan, who runs a cyber cafe in Jharkhand, is believed to have helped Akhtar produce forged documents, including education certificates.
Investigations by the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) further revealed that Khan allegedly prepared two fake passports for Akhtar’s brother Adil Husaini using the address of their ancestral home in Jamshedpur – a property that was sold almost three decades ago in 1995. Both brothers, Akhtar and Adil, are suspected of traveling abroad.
Akhtar, who initially misled the police by claiming that his brother was dead, was remanded in judicial custody until November 12. Khan remains in police custody till November 1.
Police are currently questioning the suspects to determine the motive behind creating the fake documents and to determine whether a larger criminal network or wider criminal activity is involved in the operation.
The Crime Intelligence Unit is now tracking several international calls allegedly made by Akhtar in recent months. This activity raised suspicions of foreign connections potentially linked to alleged nuclear data found in his possession.
Authorities are examining his call logs to see if he has been in contact with overseas networks or handlers.
A history of fraud
An ongoing investigation revealed that Akhtar has a decades-long history of fraud. He was deported from Dubai in 2004 after falsely claiming to be a scientist with access to “classified information”. Despite this setback, he continued to travel abroad, visiting places including Dubai and Tehran, using his forged passports and false identities.
