Fake BARC scientist arrested in Mumbai with forged IDs, 14 maps and alleged nuclear data; aide held in Jharkhand

The Mumbai Crime Branch recently arrested a 60-year-old man in the Versova area of Mumbai. He was arrested for allegedly possessing forged identification papers linked to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

The suspect, identified as Akhtar Qutubuddin Hussaini Ahmed, who also uses the alias Alexander Palmer, was found in possession of multiple counterfeit passports, Aadhaar and PAN cards, and BARC identity cards bearing the name Ali Raza Hussain.

Authorities also confiscated several suspicious documents, including 14 maps and purported nuclear data.

Akhtar had been impersonating a BARC scientist under multiple aliases, reported ABPlive.com, citing police sources.

Accomplice Apprehended

A subsequent investigation led to the arrest of a 34-year-old accomplice, Munazzil Khan, on Monday. Khan, who runs a cyber café in Jharkhand, is believed to have helped Akhtar fabricate the forged documents, including educational certificates.

The probe 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 nearly three decades ago in 1995. Both brothers, Akhtar and Adil, are suspected of having travelled abroad using these false identities.

Akhtar, who initially misled officers by claiming his brother was dead, has been remanded in judicial custody until 12 November. Khan remains in police custody until 1 November.

Police are currently questioning the suspects to determine the motive behind creating the fake documents and to ascertain whether a larger criminal network or wider criminal activity is involved in the operation.

The Crime Intelligence Unit is now tracing multiple international calls allegedly made by Akhtar in recent months. This activity has prompted suspicions of foreign connections potentially tied to the alleged nuclear data found in his possession.

Authorities are scrutinising his call records to determine whether he was in contact with overseas networks or handlers.

History of Deception

The ongoing probe has uncovered that Akhtar has a decades-long history of deception. In 2004, he was deported from Dubai after falsely claiming to be a scientist with access to “classified information”. Despite this setback, he continued to travel internationally, visiting locations including Dubai and Tehran, using his forged passports and fake identities.