Posing as PMO official, woman enters Bengal secretariat, arrested in Delhi

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.

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.

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.