Man arrested for impersonating Naval officer

KOCHI: A 23-year-old man was arrested here for allegedly posing as a Naval officer, police said on Saturday.

Raja Nath, a native of Nadia, West Bengal, who used to dress up in naval uniform and travel to different places, was arrested on Wednesday near the Naval Base, Kochi.

The arrest was recorded by the Ernakulam town south police station.

A Defence wing statement said that Raja Nath had arrived in Kochi in October 2019 and was residing in an apartment at Thevara, near here. During this period, he obtained naval uniforms made from shops at Kochi.

The arrested has also uploaded videos in ''TikTok'' posing as a Naval Officer.

The police have registered a case against the individual under Sec 140 of IPC for impersonating as an officer in Indian Navy and have also recovered Naval uniforms and badges from his residence.

A similar incident was reported earlier also at the same police station of impersonation as Commander in Indian Navy by a person identified as Nibit Daniel. This individual was allegedly involved in fraudulent activities by posing as a senior officer in Indian Navy who had also got uniforms stitched locally.

Indian Navy is taking up the issue of a ban on unauthorised sale of armed forces uniform in the state, with the Kerala government.