Mumbai News: Fake Email IDs Used To Defame CSD, Armed Forces; Cyber Probe Underway

Mumbai: A senior official from the Canteen Stores Department (CSD), operating under the Ministry of Defence, has filed a police complaint against an unknown individual for allegedly creating fake email IDs and sending defamatory messages targeting government officials and the Indian Armed Forces.

According to the complaint lodged by Rahul Janeshwar Bhosale (39), Assistant General Manager (Legal & Vigilance) at CSD, Churchgate, the accused, posing as Sukesh Kumar Hegde, sent multiple emails between April 8, 2024, and April 16, 2025. These emails contained baseless allegations of corruption against senior CSD officers and were sent from fake addresses, including:

• corruption_whitepaper2025@pm.me

• corruption_whitepaper2024@proton.me

• expose_corruption2024@protonmail.com

• target_corruption2024@proton.me

The defamatory emails were directed to official CSD addresses such as gm@csdindia.gov.in, jgm1@csdindia.gov.in, jgm2@csdindia.gov.in, and others. The emails reportedly contained confidential departmental information. The sender also falsely claimed an address at Ulan Batar Rao Tula Ram Marg, Sport View, Palam, New Delhi, which is part of a Ministry of Defence complex. Upon verification, it was found that no person named Sukesh Kumar Hegde was employed at the location.

Bhosale stated that these emails not only aimed to mislead but also defamed the institution by misrepresenting internal data and accusations under a fabricated identity. Header details of the emails have been submitted to the cyber police for investigation.

Based on the complaint, the South Region Cyber Police Station has registered a case against an unidentified person for impersonation, defamation, and spreading false information using forged email identities under Section 66(C) of the IT Act and Section 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway to trace the individual behind the fake accounts.