Police said the gang had set up the office only about 10 days earlier, renting the premises on June 4, and were attempting to function as a parallel law enforcement body. Since the operation was still in its early stages, officials believe only a handful of individuals had been targeted so far, but efforts are underway to identify more victims.The accused were identified as Bibhash, Araghya, Babu, Chandra Mandal, Pintu, Samapda, and Ashish all originally from West Bengal and living in Sector 70.During the raid, police recovered mobile phones, cheque books, rubber stamps, ID cards from various institutions, affiliation documents, visiting cards, certificates, letterheads, envelopes, a trust deed, ATM cards, and cash. Each suspect was found in possession of at least one mobile phone.A case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to forgery, cheating, impersonation, and endangering safety, as well as provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.“The gang claimed links to international bodies and displayed numerous fake credentials to bolster their image,” Awasthi added. “We are now verifying their backgrounds, affiliations, and identifying any additional accomplices or victims.”All six accused have been remanded to judicial custody, and the investigation is continuing.The UP Special Task Force on July 22 had arrested 47-year-old Harsh Vardhan Jain from Ghaziabad for running “embassies” of four micronations — Westarctica, Seborga, Poulbia and Ladonia — from a rented house.Claiming to be their “ambassador,” Jain similarly possessed forged diplomatic plates, luxury cars and official seals. Police are probing alleged overseas job scams, hawala links and counterintelligence activities. Custody plea is pending in court. They are also examining statements by Westarctica and Seborga for possible use in the investigation.
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