Delhi Man Poses As Air Force Officer To Get Special Airport Pass, Arrested

A 40-year-old man was arrested for allegedly impersonating an air force officer in order to procure a special airport pass, not available to the general public.

Firoz Gandhi, a resident of Geeta Colony in Delhi, arrived at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) office on Tuesday by posing as a wing commander and sought to renew his Aerodrome Entry Pass (AEP), which provides entry to restricted areas, police said.

In 2019, the man, Firoz Gandhi, obtained the AEP by submitting forged documents and it was due to expire in November this year, they said.

He wanted to renew the pass as he was fascinated by the Indian Air Force officers' uniform, they said.

On Wednesday, the BCAS filed a complaint at the Indira Gandhi International Airport police station alleging that a man had approached the office claiming to be a wing commander, a senior police officer said.

The BCAS received his AEP application, which had to be routed through the Indian Air Force on the Centralised Access Control System Biometric Portal, the officer said.

"During IAF verification, his credentials were found to be doubtful. Firoz Gandhi was apprehended on Wednesday when he came to collect his pass," Deputy Commissioner of Police, IGI Airport, Tanu Sharma said he was handed over to the police and a case was registered against him, she said.

During interrogation, Firoz Gandhi revealed that he had joined the National Cadet Corps's (NCC) air wing as an aero-modelling instructor in 2005 and worked there till 2018.

"He was always fascinated by the air force officers' uniform and he discretely got such uniforms for himself," the officer said.

According to police, Firoz Gandhi currently works as a liasoning officer at Bal Bhawan, Vikas Marg, on a contract basis.

During a search of his premises, 19 stamps of different authorities, two IAF officers' uniforms, four ID cards, and three IAF diaries were recovered, police said.

Firoz Gandhi owns a car with an IAF sticker. He also had vehicle passes of several government agencies, they said.

DCP Sharma said a probe is on to find out how he got access to the seized items and the AEP three years ago.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)