Mumbai: The city crime branch is likely to interrogate a man who was recently arrested by Delhi police for his alleged links with Pakistan’s spy agency ISI. City police had nabbed his brother earlier this month for allegedly posing as a scientist with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and travelling abroad under multiple fake identities.Suspecting that the brothers—Adil Hussaini in Delhi police’s custody and Akthar Hussaini—worked for ISI, police invoked BNS sections of criminal conspiracy on Wednesday. They said they found that international calls were made from the brothers’ phones and Akthar’s bank accounts saw transactions of large value. Akhtar has two offences pending, one in Meerut for alleged espionage and the other in Mumbai for cheating and forgery. Investigators are examining whether the forged BARC identity card was intended for any unauthorised access to sensitive govt facilities. Another arrested accused, Munazir Khan, who helped Akthar procure fake identity documents and educational certificates to get a passport in the name of Alexander Palmar, has emerged as an important suspect as he has been linked to the Delhi case as well. Akthar used forged credentials to travel abroad multiple times between 2017 and 2025. According to police, Khan said he had known Akhtar for years. In 2016, he created a fake Aadhaar and PAN card under the name Alexander Palmer and with them, helped him procure the first passport in that name in 2017 for a fee of Rs 19,000. Between 2022 and 2025, Akhtar again contacted Khan to renew the forged passport, which was issued with an incomplete address in Jamshedpur. Police found three fake passports with Akhtar. The investigation also showed that Akhtar’s fake educational certificates— including Classes 10 and 12, BSc, BE (Mechanical) and MBA—were fabricated by one Mohammed Ilyas from Jamshedpur, who is on the run. Both Khan and Ilyas are suspected of operating a wider racket manufacturing fraudulent identity and qualification documents for clients seeking overseas employment.
