The Neredmet police in Hyderabad arrested a 24-year-old man on Sunday for trespassing into a defence establishment using a fake National Investigation Agency identity card and seeking access to weapons. Officials found his movements suspicious and detained him, later handing him over to police, according to reports.

G Vinod Reddy, a resident of Kadapa, reportedly dressed in plain clothes and entered the premises of College of Defence Management located near Sainikpuri. Claiming to be an assistant commandant from the NIA and using a fake NIA identity card as well as a letter with forged letterhead, he sought access to weapons. However, authorities grew suspicious and checked with the NIA officials and concluded that he was an impersonator.

The Neredmet police seized his phone, the fake ID and the letter, and placed him under investigation.  

According to police, the accused used to drive an auto. During questioning, Vinod reportedly gave incoherent answers, and police suspected that he is mentally unstable. He told police that his family members were serving either in the Armed forces or police, and he felt that he was disappointed that he couldn’t become like them. Vinod is a Computer Science student, and his father also served in army, reports say.

He told police that he was writing civil services exam, but failed. “I was depressed and was moving around establishments of armed forces in the city,” he reportedly told police, according to New Indian Express.

Police have found that he is a repeat offender. In 2017, he was arrested by the Giddaluru police in Kadapa for the same crime.

Speaking to the Times of India, Neredmet inspector A Narasimha Swamy said, “Vinod told us that he had an interview to attend in Delhi for an army job. We have to verify if he is speaking the truth. The accused got the fake ID made in Old City a few years ago. In his cell phone, we found several photos of him in army uniform. A case was booked under Sections 419, 448, 468, 471 of the IPC. He was sent to judicial remand.”