Diplomat of Nowhere: Man Runs Embassy of Fictitious Nations Near Delhi, Arrested

lucknow/ghaziabad: a man from ghaziabad who posed as a diplomat representing fictitious nations like “west arctica”, “saborga”, “lodonia”, and “poulvia” has been arrested by the uttar pradesh special task force (stf) for running a fake embassy out of a rented house near delhi, police said on tuesday.the accused, harsh vardhan jain, allegedly operated the bogus consulate adorned with flags of these so-called nations and a fleet of luxury cars bearing fake diplomatic number plates, officials said.according to an internet search, “west arctica” is a non-profit micronation claiming to promote climate action, while “lodonia” is an unrecognised self-declared entity in southern sweden. no credible details were found for “saborga” and “poulvia”.additional director general of police (adg) amitabh yash said jain was impersonating a diplomat to project influence, using forged documents, morphed photos with dignitaries including the prime minister and president, and diplomatic insignia.“jain was running the so-called embassy from a rented property in ghaziabad, claiming to represent these non-existent nations. he moved around in vehicles with fake blue-coloured diplomatic plates and duped people with promises of overseas jobs,” yash said.the stf seized ₹44.7 lakh in cash, foreign currency, 12 forged diplomatic passports, 18 fake number plates, 34 rubber stamps linked to various countries and firms, two fake press cards, and forged seals of the ministry of external affairs.ssp stf sushil ghule said jain had a criminal past and was earlier booked in 2011 for possessing an illegal satellite phone at kavi nagar police station. he was allegedly involved in a hawala racket using shell companies and false diplomatic identities.jain was also reportedly associated with controversial godman chandraswami and international arms dealer adnan khashoggi.an fir has been registered, and further investigation is underway, said acp kavi nagar bhaskar verma.