Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 3 on Thursday arrested two men for allegedly creating and using forged Police Clearance Certificates (PCCs) to gain access to sensitive zones of the Western Naval Command.
The arrested accused have been identified as Anup Nandkishore Verma (28), a native of Kaimur district in Bihar, and Irsad Vakil Ahmed (36), a resident of Colaba. Both were apprehended on July 3 and have been remanded to police custody till July 8 by Esplande court.
The third accused, Debajyoti Virendranath Basu (74), a resident of Chandivali, was issued a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) due to his age.
According to the Crime Branch, the case was initiated after the Command Intelligence Officer of the Western Naval Command lodged a formal complaint regarding suspicious PCCs submitted by contractual employees working on defense projects inside high-security naval zones. These employees were reportedly hired by contractors and required valid PCCs to access these areas.
Initial verification by Crime Branch’s Confidential Intelligence Unit revealed that the PCCs submitted by Verma and Basu were fabricated. Upon further investigation, the 'G' Division of the Mumbai Special Branch and Cuffe Parade Police Station confirmed that no such certificates were ever issued to the accused.
The police have also seized three mobile handsets and identification documents from the accused. It has been alleged that Irsad Ahmed prepared the forged PCCs and supplied them to Verma and Basu to facilitate their entry into restricted naval premises. Debajyoti Basu's application ID was listed as MUCT012410044345, while Anup Verma’s was MUCT01241004168.
Following confirmation of the forged documents, a case was registered at the Cuffe Parade Police Station on July 3 under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 318(1), 335, 336(2), 337, 339, 340(2), 3(5), and 61(2). The investigation is being led by Police Sub-Inspector Indrajit Sirsat of Unit 3.
