A Delhi resident has landed in serious trouble after allegedly bombarding top Indian and US institutions with emails claiming he had Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s “blessings” to help build an indigenous military jet engine, a claim the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) says was entirely fabricated. The CBI has registered an FIR against Nisheeth Kohli, a resident of Vasant Kunj, more than a year after the emails were first sent. According to the agency, Kohli wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), ISRO chairman, HAL, DRDO, and even a senior US Navy official at the Pentagon, projecting himself as a key facilitator in a high-stakes defence project. The case came to light after the PMO filed a complaint in March last year, stating that it had received a copy of an email in which Kohli claimed he was authorised and encouraged by the Prime Minister himself to pursue the jet engine proposal. According to the FIR, Kohli cited the name of P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, to “validate” his credentials and claimed he had the Prime Minister’s blessings and best wishes to proceed with the project through DRDO and the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). A preliminary enquiry revealed that Kohli sent similar emails to Premier Explosives Limited, the Director of ADE, ISRO, HAL, and the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL). In one email, he described himself as a Textile Chemistry Engineer from the Technological Institute of Textile and Sciences (TITS), Bhiwani, and claimed he could help India develop an indigenous military jet engine if given the opportunity to present his proposal. The probe also found that Kohli emailed Vice Admiral George M. Wikoff, a senior US Navy officer posted at the Pentagon, repeating the same claims about his role and alleged backing from the Indian Prime Minister’s Office. The CBI concluded that the emails amounted to misuse of the Prime Minister’s name and that of the PMO for professional gain. Kohli has now been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, which deals with cheating by personation using electronic means. The investigation is ongoing.
