An investigation has revealed that Akhtar Hussain Qutubuddin Ahmed, a 60-year-old posing as a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) nuclear scientist named Ali Reza Hoseini and possessing three passports issued in the name of Alexander Palmer, had purchased his identity in 2016 from a Jharkhand-based individual, Munazzil Khan, for as little as Rs 19,000. A tip-off to the police brought an end to the charade more than a week ago, and Mumbai Crime Branch’s Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) subsequently traced Khan through Ahmed’s digital trail and arrested him from Jharkhand on October 25.

Ahmed’s Aadhaar and PAN cards had been created without any supporting documents by Khan, who operated an office named Asia International Human Resource Consultancy in Jamshedpur. According to investigators, the fabricated address details were gleaned from the locality around Jamshedpur’s Grace Bible College — an area with a sizeable Christian population.