Fake IDs, forged reactor and nuclear lies: How Mumbai’s ‘BARC scientist’ tried to sell bogus blueprints to Iran

When Mumbai Police arrested 60-year-old Akhtar Hussaini Qutubuddin Ahmed last month, they believed they had nabbed a small-time fraudster. But what began as a case of impersonation soon unfolded into a web of forged identities, fake passports, suspicious foreign travel, and possible links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Akhtar, a resident of Versova’s Yari Road, had been living a double life. To his neighbours, he was an ordinary man. But to foreign diplomats and companies, he introduced himself as a scientist from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), India’s top nuclear facility. His fabricated identity was good enough to convince even seasoned professionals abroad.

According to reports, Akhtar tried to sell what he described as a “nuclear-related design” to Iranian companies. Investigators say he posed as a senior BARC scientist and offered a supposed “lithium-6 reactor” prototype, claiming he and his brother had developed it themselves.

“They said the prototype used lithium-6 to control plasma temperatures,” a scientist connected to the probe told NDTV. “They even claimed to have tested another reactor with lithium-7, which failed due to plasma heating issues.”

Experts later clarified that lithium-7 has no practical use in nuclear fusion, and the so-called design had no scientific basis.

The scam went further when Akhtar tried to dupe a Mumbai-based Iranian diplomat using fake reactor blueprints. He pitched it as a “research partnership,” convincing the diplomat it was a genuine scientific collaboration.

When the Mumbai Crime Branch raided his residence, they found fake passports, Aadhaar and PAN cards, a counterfeit BARC identity card, and fourteen maps with supposed nuclear data. One of his forged IDs named him Ali Raza Hussain, another identified him as Alexander Palmer.

The police soon discovered Akhtar was not working alone. His younger brother, 59-year-old Adil Hussaini, had also been helping him. Adil was arrested by the Delhi Police last week on charges of espionage and forgery.

Investigators believe the two brothers may have travelled to Pakistan and maintained contact with ISI handlers. Akhtar reportedly told the police during questioning that his family, including his brother, were dead, possibly to hide their joint activities.

The brothers’ network of forgery was elaborate. A 34-year-old associate, Munazzir Nazimuddin Khan, was arrested on October 25 for helping Akhtar forge documents between 2016 and 2017. The police are also searching for Mohammad Iliyaas Mohammad Ismail, a Jamshedpur resident who allegedly assisted in creating the fake credentials.

Akhtar’s fascination with espionage and physics dates back decades. Police say he often introduced himself as a “secret agent” or “nuclear expert” and appeared obsessed with spy thrillers. Before turning to fraud, he worked for oil and marketing firms in West Asia.

He was deported from Dubai in 2004 after being accused of trying to sell “sensitive information” related to India, though intelligence agencies could not find sufficient proof at the time.

According to police sources cited by Hindustan Times, Akhtar used his fake identity to meet foreign nationals and extract money by pretending to have access to classified data. His brother Adil has been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery, and investigators are considering invoking the Official Secrets Act against him.

The deeper the police dug, the stranger the case became. Officials found that Akhtar had travelled abroad several times using a forged passport. According to mid-day, he visited Iran nearly 20 times and Saudi Arabia about 15 times, along with multiple trips to Moscow and Thailand.

Both brothers had reportedly visited Tehran in March and April and maintained regular contact with Iranian embassies in India and Dubai.

The financial trail raised even more red flags. Investigators found multiple bank accounts under their names, including one in a private bank that showed foreign transactions dating back to 2001. “The transactions post-2001 appear highly irregular, with repeated inflows from unidentified foreign sources,” a Mumbai Crime Branch officer told mid-day.

The money trail stretches back to 1995, when the brothers first began receiving foreign funds in lakhs. By the early 2000s, the inflows had risen to crores. The Crime Branch has sought detailed transaction records and KYC documents to trace the origin of the money.

Officials suspect Adil may have visited an “enemy nation” as early as 1999. His travel history from 2003 onward is being verified.

Akhtar, meanwhile, already faces a case in Meerut for allegedly “waging war” against the Uttar Pradesh government and “spreading hatred and disaffection.”

For now, the investigation has exposed how a man with a forged identity managed to travel across continents, meet diplomats, and pitch bogus nuclear technology without detection for years.

What remains unclear is whether Akhtar was simply a fraudster chasing easy money or part of something far more sinister. The Mumbai Police and Delhi Crime Branch are now piecing together the fragments of his international connections, hoping to answer that very question.