Fake PMO official arrested in Delhi after security breach in West Bengal
A woman who secured a meeting inside West Bengal’s State secretariat by claiming to be a senior officer of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was arrested in Delhi the next day, after the minister she met questioned her credentials and police traced her Delhi home and arrested her.
Akangsha Vidyarthi, in her thirties, came to Nabanna on Wednesday afternoon for an appointment with Public Works Minister Ajay Poddar. She said she was a senior official from the PMO and passed through security to reach the minister’s office at the secure complex on the Hooghly in Howrah. Once inside, she talked with Poddar and other department officials, asked about the Public Works Department, and requested administrative information.
The meeting was brief. Poddar noticed her statements did not add up and started asking more questions about who she was. Realising her story was falling apart, she left quickly. Staff then checked her credentials and found no real connection to the PMO. By the time police sent a complaint to Howrah City Police, she was already on a flight back to Delhi.
Shibpur police filed a case for impersonating a public servant, cheating by pretending to be someone else, and using fake documents. Investigators confirmed she had no official ties to the PMO. A team led by a woman officer travelled overnight and worked with Delhi Police. On Thursday, they found Vidyarthi at a home in central Delhi’s Anand Parvat area and took her into custody after questioning. Police are now working to get permission to bring her to Howrah.
The motive is still unclear. Officers are trying to find out why she entered Nabanna using a false central Government identity and whether she acted alone or as part of a larger plan. Investigators say they are looking into possible links to an organised group, but so far, no such network has been confirmed. Some early local reports suggested she might have been contacted about a private issue before going to the secretariat, but police have not confirmed this.
It seems she did not take anything important from the building. The breach is being taken seriously because of the location. Nabanna is the state Government’s main office, and just an appointment, a claimed PMO title, and unchecked documents at the gate allowed her to meet a Cabinet minister. The response after the incident was quick, but the initial check was not.
Vidyarthi remains in custody as Howrah police pursue the impersonation and forgery charges and keep questioning her about her reasons and methods. For the state administration, this incident is a clear reminder that even a secure secretariat relies on careful verification at the entrance, an official said.
