It would indeed seem bizarre that a 21-year-old youth who had been falsely representing himself as a Brigadier in the Indian Army had been arrested by the military forces on Friday. Aryan Verma, who had been pretending to be a Brigadier, was nabbed by army personnel through a well-planned trap in Shahjahanpur Cantonment. As per military sources, Verma had been seen moving frequently around Shahjahanpur as well as neighboring areas dressed in a full ceremonial army uniform as a Brigadier, a senior army officer.
The honeytrap: A motivational speech that brought Verma in a trap
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Since April, army authorities as well as intelligence agencies have been keeping Verma under strict surveillance after getting information regarding his suspicious movement in a Brigadier’s ceremonial uniform. In order to track Verma’s movement precisely, officials decided to make use of a trap,, as it proved to be quite difficult to do otherwise.
Verma was asked to give a motivational lecture to aspirants for defence jobs ahead of their recruitment exams. The venue selected for the supposed event was Shaheed Memorial, located inside the Shahjahanpur cantonment.
उत्तर प्रदेश के शाहजहांपुर मिलिट्री कैंप में फर्जी ब्रिगेडियर आर्यन वर्मा पकड़ा गया है। अपने साथ 2 फर्जी NSG कमांडो भी रखता था। अप्रैल से सेना को इसकी तलाश थी। पूर्व सैनिकों ने इसे शहीद संग्रहालय के एक कार्यक्रम में बुलाया और पकड़वा दिया। नकली पिस्टल, आर्मी का फर्जी कार्ड मिले… pic.twitter.com/NohOB4yOhZ
— Sachin Gupta (@Sachingupta) June 13, 2026
The trap proved to be successful. On Friday morning, Verma reached the place dressed as a Brigadier, complete with an SUV, which was decorated with military insignia, including stars and an officer’s flag. Upon arrival, he was immediately arrested by military personnel.
Bouncers masquerading as NSG commandos and forged government cards among evidence recovered
The arrest gave investigators a glimpse of the sheer audacity of Verma’s fraud and forgery. The 21-year-old had accompanied himself with two personal bouncers, who were introduced by him to the public audience as NSG commandos assigned to him through high-profile military security cover.
Verma, along with his vehicle, was thoroughly searched, and the following items were seized from him:
- An identity card issued by the government and belonging to his driver.
- A forged identity card stamped by the Dean of the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC).
- A military army regimental cane.
- Dummy pistol.
Interrogation ongoing; The man is a failed NEET aspirant
A special team of Army Intelligence from Bareilly is now conducting the major part of the investigation and interrogating Verma to unravel the motive that led him to stage such a brutal impersonation. Investigators are trying to trace the sources from which he managed to obtain uniforms, seals, and other special insignias for the vehicle that he used.
The Superintendent of Police (SP), Saurabh Dixit, stated that the military authorities have already started interrogating the suspect. “Once the Army finishes with their formal inquiry and hands over the custody of the man to us, we will register an FIR and begin our own investigation,” SP Dixit said.
Initial investigations have found that Verma is a Delhiite who came to Bareilly to prepare for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). According to the officials, the man had already failed several attempts in the extremely tough competition. The suspect belongs to a decent family because both his parents work for the government – his father is a Horticulture Department officer, while his mother is a schoolteacher.
