Mumbai, Sep 11: One of the two men held for allegedly forcing their way into a shopping mall in Mumbai while carrying a firearm and a fake identity card of the PMO, has confessed to fabricating the document using ChatGPT to elevate his self-esteem in society, police told a court here on Friday.
The two accused, identified as Rohan Parikh (24) and Dilip Kunde (49), were produced before Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Esplanade court) D S Khedekar here at the end of their police custody.
The court remanded the duo in 14-day judicial custody.
The police sought the duo’s further remand for completing their ongoing technical examination of the seized electronic devices and apprehend the wanted accused.
The police told the court that during the search of Parikh’s house, they seized documents in English linked to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“Parikh has confessed to fabricating the PMO ID and related documents using ChatGPT since 2025 to elevate his social standing and self-esteem within his family and society,” the investigators said.
Extraction of his phone’s data showed search history related to drafting the PMO correspondence, they said.
Police submitted that Parikh’s custody was needed to investigate whether he utilised the forged PMO documents or ID in any other locations.
The police also emphasised that Kunde, a former Army man, from whom a revolver was recovered, admitted that his personal-use weapon was being utilised commercially to act as a professional bodyguard for Parikh.
Appearing for the two accused, advocate Satish Maneshinde, however, contended that the accused have confessed that they prepared the documents and no third party was involved. Hence further remand is not required to unearth anything, he added.
The court, after hearing both the sides, held that the ground mentioned in the remand report does not justify further custody. It thus sent the accused to judicial custody.
The incident took place on September 7 at the Jio World Plaza mall in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), a day prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event at the adjacent Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre for the Global Fintech Fest 2026.
Parikh was arrested with a fake PMO card after Kunde, who was accompanying him, was found to be carrying a firearm and an argument ensued between the duo and the mall’s security staff.
During the argument, Parikh allegedly claimed he was a PMO official.
The police later clarified that the incident had no connection to the PM’s scheduled event the next day. (PTI)
