On Saturday, police reported that a 42-year-old man named Manish Poddar was arrested for allegedly deceiving individuals by giving them counterfeit certificates from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
According to authorities, the arrested individual is a resident of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. The complaint was filed by a sweet shop proprietor on July 23, who stated that he had initiated a new workshop in the Naraina Industrial Area and an outlet in Pitampura. To operate these establishments, he needed DPCC certificates. He came into contact with Poddar, who claimed to be knowledgeable about the DPCC’s procedures. Poddar received Rs 2,01,600 ($2,720) as “fees and consultation charges” and provided the complainant with four pollution certificates. However, it was later revealed that these certificates were fake, as per a senior police officer.
During the investigation, police received a tip-off regarding the whereabouts of the accused, who was hiding in Sector 3 in Greater Noida. After pinpointing his precise location, a trap was set and Poddar was apprehended, according to Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav.
Yadav stated that during interrogation, Poddar confessed that he visited business associations and interacted with various businessmen and factory/shop owners who wished to obtain DPCC certificates easily. The accused took advantage of this opportunity and presented himself as a commission agent-cum-consultant. He began providing these individuals with counterfeit DPCC certificates and even received work through referrals, the police added.
So far, six victims of Poddar have been identified by the police. They seized twelve fake DPCC certificates, a laptop, and two mobile phones that were used to create the forged documents, authorities reported.
Poddar, who is an engineer and also holds an MBA degree, left his job at a bank to establish his own company, which provided sewage treatment plants to small industries in Delhi’s Naraina and Udyog Vihar in Gurugram. It was during this time that he became familiar with pollution certificates and the necessary procedures to obtain them. He began posing as a mediator for DPCC work and deceived people, the police concluded.