Failing NEET Multiple Times, 21-Year-Old Caught Playing 'Brigadier' in SUV with Fake NSG Bouncers

He was 21, living in Delhi, and failing the NEET exam over and over. Then, somewhere along the way, Aryan Verma decided it was easier to just buy a uniform.

Not just any uniform. He went straight for Brigadier.

For months, Verma allegedly drove around Shahjahanpur and nearby districts in a Tata Harrier SUV decked out with official military stars and flags. He didn't travel light, either. He had a driver with a fake government ID and two bouncers he introduced to people as his personal National Security Guard (NSG) commandos. To complete the look, he carried an Army regimental cane, a forged ID bearing the seal of the Dean of the Armed Forces Medical College, and a fake pistol.

The Army caught wind of him in April. The problem was tracking him down. He was moving around too much, projecting the image of a high-profile military officer to anyone who would listen. So, the authorities decided to use his own vanity against him.

Army officials posed as regular civilians and reached out to Verma with an offer: Would the "Brigadier" do them the honor of delivering a motivational speech to young kids preparing for recruitment exams?

He bit. The venue was set for Friday morning at the Shaheed Museum, right inside the Shahjahanpur Cantonment area.

Verma showed up on time, fully dressed in a Brigadier's ceremonial uniform, riding in the star-plated Harrier. He thought he was there to give a speech. Instead, the moment he pulled up, Army personnel swarmed the vehicle and detained him on the spot.

An Army Intelligence team from Bareilly has since taken over the case. They are currently interrogating Verma to figure out what his actual end game was, where he got the forged documents, and who helped him source the high-ranking uniform.

Back home, his parents hold respectable, ordinary jobs, his father works in the horticulture department and his mother is a school teacher. Meanwhile, Verma is sitting in military custody.

According to Superintendent of Police Saurabh Dixit, the local police are waiting for the Army to finish its preliminary inquiry. Once custody is officially transferred over, the police will file a formal FIR and launch a wider criminal investigation.

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