CBI Books Imposter Posing as PMO Joint Secretary to Extort CCTV Firm CP Plus

Federal investigators have cracked down on an audacious influence-peddling racket operated directly over WhatsApp. The Central Bureau of Investigation booked Manish Kumar, who also goes by Manish Kumar Gupta, for allegedly impersonating a joint secretary in the Prime Minister's Office to extort high-end surveillance hardware from security firm CP Plus. The agency moved swiftly. Acting on an explicit written complaint lodged by the PMO itself, the CBI filed a formal First Information Report charging Gupta with criminal impersonation and intimidation.

Power-brokers often lurk in bureaucratic shadows. But Gupta opted for brazen direct outreach, messaging Aditya Khemka, managing director of CP Plus, while masquerading as the joint secretary for administration inside South Block. He demanded immediate installation of both indoor and outdoor CCTV surveillance gear at his parents' flat in Gaur Green Avenue, located in Ghaziabad's Indirapuram. To streamline delivery, he handed over the contact details of his brother, Mukesh Kumar Gupta.

When company representatives paused to seek routine verification, the mask slipped into overt intimidation. Gupta warned the corporate leadership of "dire consequences" if technicians failed to fit the security apparatus immediately—either entirely free of charge or slashed to rock-bottom commercial rates. He cited mandatory government "protocol" supposedly owed to his brother, whom he claimed was an Indian Administrative Service officer.

The Intimidation Chain and Vendor Deadlock

The corporate hierarchy buckled under the threat of executive retaliation. Rattled by the spectre of bureaucratic harassment, CP Plus staff and their customer relations management wing instructed an empanelled contractor—Anupam Kumar Gupta of M/s Secqua Technology—to prioritize the Indirapuram site survey and carve out heavy price cuts. The contractor complied initially, scrambling to inspect the Ghaziabad premises under pressure from the parent firm.

But commercial concessions have limits. When the contractor stated he could not cut equipment prices any lower without incurring steep losses, the alleged imposter turned vicious. Gupta threatened to haul the vendor before the CP Plus owner to demand punitive action. Trapped between impossible margin cuts and persistent harassment, the vendor halted work. The site remained half-inspected. The project stalled.

PMO Denials and Federal Scrutiny

South Block quickly dismantled the charade. Upon learning of the outreach, the Prime Minister's Office conducted an internal roll-check and confirmed directly to the CBI that no individual named Manish Kumar has ever served as a joint secretary in the PMO, nor held any post in the office in any official capacity. The entire administrative apparatus Gupta cited had been fabricated.

CBI investigators are now tracing the electronic footprints, call detail records, and WhatsApp server exchanges used during the harassment of CP Plus executives and their contractor. The agency will summon Gupta for custodial questioning as detectives examine whether he used identical impersonation techniques against other commercial entities across the National Capital Region.