Duo attempts to enter army training centre in Ahmednagar using fake ID, held

PUNE: Two young men, including an engineering graduate from Dhule, have been arrested by the Ahmednagar police on the charges of cheating and impersonation, after they tried to enter the basic training (BTR) centre of the Armoured Corps Centre (ACC) at Ahmednagar cantonment on Thursday afternoon.
One of the two men had secured a coloured photocopy of a genuine army ID card belonging to his relative, a serving soldier posted in the northern sector, for using the same to hoodwink the security guards at the army establishment, police said.
Inspector Pravin Patil of Ahmednagar Camp police told TOI, "The arrested duo -- Sopan Mahru Patil (22) and Tushar Dnyaneshwar Patil (24) -- told us during their questioning that they were at the ACC to meet a serving soldier to know about army recruitment process. We are verifying their claims. Sopan is an engineer while Tushar is a graduate, both are jobless."
Patil said, "The two have conceded that they misused the ID card at toll plazas on highways and at the army canteens. Nothing has come out so far to suggest that the duo was gathering intelligence or planning any sabotage."
The military intelligence (MI) personnel too questioned the duo but did not find any documents related to army from them.
The ACC is a premier training establishment of the Indian army for recruitment as well as training of officers and personnel from the armoured corps.
Around 2.30pm on Thursday, the two men, riding a motorcycle, reached the BTR centre gate where Tushar handed over the ID card to the security guard for entering the premises. The guard got suspicious about the card and referred the same to his senior at the gate and men from the MI were summoned at the spot.
A verification revealed that the photo and name on the ID card given by the two men was not matching with the Aadhar card details and photo of the actual soldier. The photocopy was of the ID card of Sopan's cousin who is a serving soldier.
The MI men then apprehended Tushar and Sopan and later handed them over to the Ahmednagar Camp police. Naib Rasaldar Satram Singh, a junior commissioned officer, lodged the case for offences under Sections 420 (cheating) 170 (personating public servant) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.