Mumbai, Sep 2026 : Mumbai Police arrested two persons, including an armed man, on Tuesday for allegedly posing as a PMO official and his bodyguard while moving suspiciously around the venue of the Global Fintech Fest, which was scheduled to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said.
The incident came to light hours before Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the four-day event at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex. The suspicious movements of the two men reportedly alerted security personnel deployed at the high-security venue.
Police identified the alleged impersonator as 24-year-old Rohan Parekh, who was carrying a purported PMO identity card. His companion was allegedly posing as his bodyguard and was carrying a firearm. Security personnel became suspicious of the duo and subjected their credentials to verification.
The Mumbai Crime Branch subsequently confirmed that Parekh’s identity card was fake, following which a security alert was sounded and the two men were taken into custody.
Following the alleged security breach, arrangements were strengthened at the event venue as well as at several other sensitive locations across Mumbai, including the airport. Senior police officials reviewed the security situation after the seriousness of the incident became apparent.
The Crime Branch has seized the mobile phones of both accused and is examining their call detail records (CDRs) as part of the investigation, police sources said. Investigators are attempting to establish whether the two acted alone or were linked to others who may have been involved in the alleged security breach.
The accused were also questioned about their purpose in entering or moving around the heavily secured venue with fake credentials and an armed associate. Police are probing the circumstances surrounding the alleged impersonation and attempting to determine whether there was any larger criminal conspiracy behind the incident.
The security breach occurred on a day when Mumbai was hosting the Global Fintech Fest 2026, one of the major annual international conferences focused on financial technology. Prime Minister Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the seventh edition of the event on Tuesday evening.
The four-day conference, which began on Tuesday, is scheduled to conclude on September 11. Since its emergence as a global platform in 2020, the GFF has brought together policymakers, regulators, central banks, financial institutions, fintech companies, technology firms, investors, academics and other stakeholders from across the world.
The theme of the 2026 edition is “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI, Tokenisation, Quantum – Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance.”
According to the organisers, discussions during the conference will focus on how emerging technologies such as Agentic AI, programmable finance and quantum technologies can contribute to building trusted, inclusive and measurable financial systems.
The alleged impersonation incident has prompted heightened scrutiny of security arrangements around the high-profile event as police continue their investigation into the identities, motives and possible links of the two suspects.
