Rohan Premal Parikh, one of the accused arrested in connection with the security breach at Mumbai's Jio World Plaza, told a court that he was himself allegedly duped by a man who promised him a job in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
According to NDTV, Parikh, 24, was produced before the Killa Court, where his lawyer argued that his client may have been a victim of a larger conspiracy involving people allegedly impersonating PMO officials.
According to the defence, a man identified as Tarun Kapoor approached Parikh with an offer of an advisory role in the PMO. Parikh was allegedly sent emails concerning defence acquisition policy and was provided an official-looking offer letter, an identity card and a letter purportedly bearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's signature.
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The defence claimed that Parikh received an email purportedly from the Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister. It also said the PMO identity card was sent to him only as a digital screenshot and that he was never given a physical copy.
Parikh allegedly showed the digital ID to police and handed over communications with the people who had contacted him, the lawyer told the court. The defence argued that these communications should be examined to establish whether Parikh knowingly impersonated a PMO official or was himself being deceived.
According to the FIR, Parikh and another accused, 49-year-old Dilip Rajaram Kunde, allegedly gained unauthorised access to Jio World Plaza in Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla Complex by using a fake PMO identity card. Police said the card was used to pressure a private security guard into allowing them entry.
Police also seized a black revolver, a holster and six live cartridges from Kunde, according to the FIR.
The third accused, 26-year-old Prathamesh Ganesh Bagul, has been listed as wanted.
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Police identified Parikh after tracing the registration number of a vehicle captured on CCTV footage at the mall. Officers subsequently reached his residence in Khar, where they allegedly found his responses regarding the PMO identity card and officials involved to be evasive.
The police have also seized two mobile phones, an Apple iPhone and a Vivo handset, and plan to examine their data and communications as part of the investigation.
Investigators are also examining whether Parikh received any financial benefit or salary by allegedly posing as a PMO official.
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