What started as an alleged try and enter Jio World Plaza by claiming to be a PMO official has put a 24-year-old Mumbai man underneath police radar. Rohan Parekh, son of a diamond service provider, is now on the centre of the case, at the same time as his lawyer has informed a courtroom that he himself might have been duped.
Parekh was amongst two males arrested by Mumbai Police for the safety breach and impersonation on Monday at Jio World Plaza, which is housed in the identical complicated the place Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to talk on the seventh International Fintech Fest on Tuesday night. A 3rd particular person accompanying the duo is lacking, and police have launched a seek for him, HT reported earlier.
Sometimes, the Particular Safety Group (SPG) secures the conference centre 5 days upfront of the PM’s arrival. The Jio Conference Centre has 22 gates and is unfold over 17 acres within the coronary heart of Bandra-Kurla Advanced.
Additionally Learn: Man claiming to be PMO official, ‘bodyguard’ with gun arrested in Mumbai
Who’s Rohan Parekh?
Parekh, a Khar resident, is 24-years-old and holds a graduate diploma in arithmetic and physics from a UK college. He’s the son of a diamond service provider.
In accordance with crime department officers, Parekh entered Jio World Plaza, a shopping center that’s a part of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC), at round 4.50 pm on Monday.
Police mentioned Parekh was accompanied by two males once they tried to enter the plaza. The group was stopped after safety personnel noticed one of many males carrying a gun.
Parekh recognized himself as a PMO official and confirmed an identification card on his cellphone, following which he was allowed inside.
The armed man claimed he was a part of the SPG, however he and the third man had been stopped. Parekh got here out of the plaza inside a couple of minutes, after which the trio left the venue.
What’s the ‘PMO connection’?
The SPG had begun verifying Parekh’s declare of being a PMO official, in addition to the armed man’s declare of being an SPG member.
A scan of CCTV footage on the entrance of the mall confirmed the lads had arrived in a Mercedes. Its registration plate revealed the car was registered within the identify of Khar resident Rohan Premal Parikh, a resident of twelfth Street in Khar West.
A police group was subsequently despatched to the handle to apprehend Parekh.
Parekh informed police that one of many males accompanying him was his pal Prathamesh Bagul, a Worli resident. The opposite man, Dilip Kunde, was his bodyguard and an ex-serviceman.
Police subsequently arrested Kunde and seized a revolver and 6 dwell cartridges from him. They’re looking out for Bagul, 26. Parekh and Kunde have been remanded in police custody till September 11.
Additionally Learn: Flashed phone ID, claimed PMO link: How two men tried to slip into Modi’s Mumbai venue
‘Parekh might have been duped’
Parekh’s counsel, advocate Anandini Fernandes, informed a metropolitan Justice of the Peace on Tuesday that Parekh himself may have been a sufferer of a fraud.
She mentioned Parekh was contacted by a sure Tarun Kapoor two years in the past and provided a job within the PMO on a month-to-month wage of ₹68,000. Parekh, whose uncle has a drone tools enterprise, was informed he was to work on defence coverage within the PMO.
Fernandes informed the courtroom that Parekh had obtained a letter purportedly signed by the PM, as additionally a digital identification card from the PMO.
Nashik resident Kunde is a retired serviceman who works as a bodyguard for Parekh’s father and carries a licensed weapon.
(With inputs from Vinay Dalvi, Megha Sood)