Delhi man posing as IAF wing commander arrested at IGI airport, police says ‘was fascinated by uniform’

Officials at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) arrested a 40-year-old man allegedly posing as wing commander in the Indian Air Force at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) office, The Indian Express reported. The accused, identified as Firoz Gandhi, was held when he sought to renew his Aerodrome Entry Pass (AEP), which provides entry to restricted areas. Gandhi, a resident of Geeta Colony in Delhi, arrived at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) office on Tuesday to renew his AEP, police said, reported IE.

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The report further quoted IGI Airport DCP Tanu Sharma as saying, “He was fascinated by the Air Force officer’s uniform and he secretly got one made for himself. In 2019, he got the AEP from BCAS using forged documents by posing as an IAF officer. He had initially told BCAS authorities he was a retired wing commander and was working as a liaisoning officer at Bal Bhawan. We found 19 stamps of different authorities, 2 IAF uniforms, 4 cards, 3 IAF diaries. His car has a sticker of IAF and a vehicle pass of a government agency. A case has been registered against him under sections of impersonating a public servant, cheating and forgery. He has been sent to police remand where he will be questioned about the source of forged documents.”

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According to the renew process, the AEP application had to be routed through the IAF’s Centralised Access Control System Biometric Portal and “during IAF verification, his credentials were found to be doubtful”. He was handed over to the police and a case was registered against him, she added.

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During interrogation, Firoz Gandhi revealed that he had joined the National Cadet Corps’ (NCC’s) air wing as an aero-modelling instructor in 2005 and worked there till 2018. During a search of his premises, 19 stamps of different authorities, two IAF officers’ uniforms, four ID cards and three IAF diaries were recovered, police said. He also owns a car with an IAF sticker and had vehicle passes of several government agencies, the IE reported.

DCP Sharma said a probe is on to find out how he got access to the seized items and the AEP three years ago.