Mumbai: The Anti-Extortion Cell of the Mumbai Police has arrested two individuals for allegedly attempting to extort ₹4 lakh from a complainant by using a forged letter bearing the signature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The accused were produced before the Esplanade Court, which remanded them to three days of police custody. The arrested accused have been identified as Tausif Hussain Ismail Patel (44), an advertising professional associated with Target Media and Siddhinath Dinanath Pandey alias Sunil (43) also associated with Target Media, both accused residing at Ganesh Building, Shastri Nagar, Goregaon (West).
Both were arrested on April 4, 2026, at around 7:30 PM. Advocate Birendra Yadav appeared on behalf of the accused and argued their case in court.
According to the complaint, the victim runs an NGO named “Mega Shreya,” which has been engaged in social work for underprivileged children, old age homes, and orphanages since 2020.
The complainant came into contact with accused Tausif Patel and an associate, Farnaz Wadia, during a social event in 2022. They allegedly introduced themselves as journalists and stayed in touch via WhatsApp, sharing updates about the complainant’s social work. On March 18, Patel allegedly sent a WhatsApp voice note offering to arrange a birthday greeting letter from the Prime Minister’s Office in exchange for money. The complainant initially dismissed the claim as fake. However, the accused continued to insist that the letter was genuine and demanded ₹4 lakh as “PR charges.”
Later, on March 28, Farnaz Wadia allegedly sent a digital copy of a letter bearing the Prime Minister’s signature, addressed to the complainant and praising her social work. The complainant initially shared the letter on social media but deleted it after colleagues raised doubts about its authenticity. Subsequently, the accused allegedly intensified their demands and allegedly created a fake email ID in the complainant’s name to lend credibility to the forged communication.
On April 2, the complainant called the accused to a meeting at a café in Worli. During the meeting, the accused allegedly claimed they had contacts within the Prime Minister’s Office and reiterated their demand for ₹4 lakh in exchange for a framed “original” letter.
Following continuous pressure and threats, the complainant approached the police. Acting on the complaint, the Anti-Extortion Cell laid a trap at a hotel in Worli Sea Face, where the accused were caught red-handed while accepting the extortion money.
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Police recovered the following items from the accused like A framed fake birthday greeting letter purportedly signed by the Prime Minister, bundles of toy currency notes along with two genuine ₹500 notes, two mobile phones used in the crime. A case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act, including cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, extortion, and cyber fraud. The original FIR was registered at Worli Police Station and later transferred to the Anti-Extortion Cell for further investigation. Acting on the complaint, police conducted a technical investigation and laid a trap in the Worli area, where the accused were caught red-handed while accepting the extortion amount.
The investigation is being led by Police Inspector Arun Thorat of the Anti-Extortion Cell. Police suspect the involvement of additional accused and are probing the source of the forged Prime Minister’s signature and letterhead, the digital tools used to create the fake document, possible involvement of other accomplices, including those outside Maharashtra, whether similar frauds were committed using forged documents of other government officials. Further investigation is underway.
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