HOURS BEFORE Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate an event here on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, Mumbai police arrested two persons, including one who was armed, posing as a "PMO official" and his "bodyguard" while they were moving around suspiciously around the venue, officials said.

Rohan Parekh, 24, who was carrying a "PMO ID card", and his gun-toting “bodyguard" left the security officials flustered after the former’s identity documents were found to be fake.

The two were taken into custody after their movements at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) at the Bandra Kurla Complex raised suspicion among the security personnel posted at the venue of the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) scheduled to be attended by PM Modi, police said.

A security alarm was sounded after the Mumbai Crime Branch confirmed Parekh's identity card was fake. Security arrangements were beefed up at the venue and across the city, including the airport, after senior officers realised the gravity of the alleged “breach”.

Sources said the Crime Branch seized the mobile phone of the two and launched an investigation based on their Call Detail Record (CDR), hoping to identify other suspects involved in the alleged security breach.

The duo was also grilled over their purpose for coming to the high-security venue with a fake ID.

The police were also trying to unravel the criminal conspiracy behind the alleged breach of the Prime Minister’s security arrangements.

PM Modi will inaugurate Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2026, one of the world’s largest and most influential annual fintech conferences, on Tuesday evening. The four-day Fest, which is in its seventh edition, will conclude on September 11.

Since 2020, the GFF has emerged as an international thought leadership platform bringing together policymakers, regulators, central banks, financial institutions, fintechs, technology companies, investors, academia and other global stakeholders to deliberate on shaping the future of finance.

The theme of GFF 2026 is “Potential to Impact: Agentic AI, Tokenisation, Quantum – Trusted, Connected, Global Systems for Inclusive Finance.”

This year, discussions will focus on how Agentic AI, programmable finance, quantum technologies and other critical and emerging technologies can create trusted, inclusive and measurable outcomes for citizens, enterprises and economies globally, said a statement.

[HP]