In a major breakthrough, the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha arrested a con man of Kashmiri origin who allegedly duped several women on the pretext of marriage. Moreover, he is believed to have links with many people in Pakistan and anti-social elements in Kerala.

The 37-year-old Sayad Ishaan Bukhari, alias Dr. Ishaan Bukhari, alias Ishaan Bukhari, was arrested from the Neulpur area of Jajpur district in Odisha on charges of cheating people and impersonating himself as an army doctor, a neurologist, an official from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), and a close associate of a high-ranking National Investigation Agency (NIA) official. The accused had been residing in Odisha since 2018. The police have also seized several forged documents, fake IDs, Aadhar, and debit cards from Bukhari. They also informed that the four mobile phones seized from him will be sent for forensic analysis to know about the chats and his suspected links.

Jai Narayan Pankaj, Inspector General (IG), STF, said that the fraudster, who hails from Kupwara, Kashmir, was wanted by the Kashmir police in a case of cheating and forgery, and a non-bailable warrant was pending against him. Apart from this, he was found to be impersonating others and presenting various forged documents, like medical degrees from foreign universities like Cornell USA, the Canadian Health Services Institute, and the Christian Medical College, Vellore. Numerous affidavits, bonds, ATM cards, blank cheques, ID cards, and visiting cards were also found to be in his possession, IG Pankaj added.

The police also informed that Bukhari had deceived and married at least six to seven women residing in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Kashmir states. He was very active on several websites and apps and easily cheated women with his impressive fake profiles.

The STF IG, Pankaj, said that they have strong evidence against Bukhari being a fraudster. They are also investigating his alleged links with Pakistan as a spy. They do not have ample evidence to prove his terror links, and hence they are in touch with the NIA. He will be interrogated by a joint team from Punjab, Kashmir, and Odisha due to his suspected links with anti-national elements.

(Inputs from various media sources)

(Rehash/Dr. Sushmita Ganguli)