Woman Arrested After Posing as PMO Official to Enter Bengal Secretariat

A woman claiming to be a high-ranking official with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) was arrested in Delhi Thursday after allegedly using a fake identity to gain access to the West Bengal state secretariat, Nabanna, a day before. Akangsha Vidyarthi, in her 30s, secured a meeting with West Bengal Public Works Minister Ajay Poddar Wednesday afternoon under false pretences.

Vidyarthi managed to get past security and enter the minister's office at Nabanna, a heavily guarded facility, However, during their conversation, Poddar grew suspicious of her inconsistent statements and began questioning her credentials. Vidyarthi abruptly left the premises when she realised her cover was blown.

Also Read | Ministers, bureaucrats, foreign trips: How J&K editor built a ‘PMO official’ image The minister's staff immediately alerted law enforcement officers, prompting the Shibpur police to launch an investigation. Authorities discovered that Vidyarthi had already caught a flight to Delhi.

The Shibpur police filed charges including impersonating a public servant, cheating by personation, and presenting forged documents. A team led by a woman officer travelled to Delhi overnight, located Vidyarthi at her central Delhi home Thursday, and took her into custody. “We are obtaining a transit remand to bring her back to Kolkata for further interrogation.

We are currently looking into whether she had local accomplices and are verifying the authenticity of the credentials she used to secure the meeting," said a Howrah city police officer. Also Read | Bank account ‘operated by’ fake PMO advisor received Rs 1.3 crore from firm run by senior Maharashtra official’s wife Other fake PMO officials The arrest comes against the backdrop of previous cases involving people allegedly using fake PMO identities to gain access to officials or solicit money by promising to influence government decisions.

In one such case, the police arrested two men in Mumbai last month, a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the city for the Global Fintech Fest 2026. The police said the accused had allegedly used a fake PMO identity card to enter Jio World Plaza in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, but clarified that the incident had no connection to the Prime Minister’s visit or programme.

Also Read | Who is Rohan Parikh? From London to the centre of BKC’s ‘PMO ID’ case In another case, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Jammu-based businessman and newspaper founder-editor Vijay Gupta in Delhi on May 20 for allegedly posing as an influential PMO official and cheating people of more than Rs 4 crore by promising to get their work done.

Gupta reportedly cultivated close access to Jammu and Kashmir’s political and administrative establishment, including frequent visits to the Civil Secretariat, which investigators alleged helped him project influence he did not have.