Mumbai Man Arrested for Impersonating BARC Scientist and Selling Fake Nuclear Designs to Iranian Companies

Akhtar Hussaini Qutbuddin Ahmed has been arrested.

A 60-year-old individual was recently apprehended by Mumbai Police for impersonating a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) scientist. According to investigation sources, this man attempted to market alleged nuclear designs to Iranian companies under the guise of "scientific collaboration" and "research partnership."

Investigators revealed that Akhtar Hussaini Qutbuddin Ahmed and his brother Adil Hussaini, 59, who was also arrested, were trying to sell purported designs for a lithium-6 reactor using VPNs and encrypted networks.

The brothers traveled to Tehran approximately in March and April and made multiple visits to Iranian embassies located in India and Dubai.

They successfully deceived a Mumbai-based Iranian diplomat by presenting themselves as senior BARC scientists. The diplomat was misled through fabricated information and reactor blueprints, according to investigation sources.

These deceptive activities were conducted under the pretense of establishing "scientific collaboration" or "research partnership," the sources added.

The accused made false claims about achieving a fusion breakthrough.

A lithium-6-based fusion reactor produces tritium fuel and employs molten lithium to extract heat from fusion reactions.

Sources indicate the accused told Iranian companies they had developed a lithium-6-based fusion reactor prototype capable of controlling plasma temperatures. They also claimed to have tested a lithium-7 reactor that supposedly failed due to "plasma heating failure."

Scientists involved in the investigation stated that while the prototype mentioned by the accused exists in theory, no scientific evidence confirms its actual operation.

Regarding the lithium-7 reactor, scientists clarified that lithium-7 is unsuitable for any fusion process.

Both accused individuals employed sophisticated scientific terminology including nuclear reactor physics, isotope chemistry, and plasma dynamics to confuse investigators, sources reported.

"Plasma physics and nuclear engineering experts were brought in to decipher the technical aspects of their statements," they explained.

Akhtar, who resides in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, was detained by Mumbai Police, while his brother was apprehended by Delhi Police. Authorities previously seized more than 10 maps and alleged nuclear weapons data from Akhtar.

Multiple counterfeit passports, Aadhaar and PAN cards, and a fake BARC identification card were also recovered. One ID identified him as Ali Raza Hussain, while another named him Alexander Palmer.

According to police, the brothers began receiving international funding in 1995. Initially, they received payments in the hundreds of thousands of rupees, but after 2000, this increased to millions.

Investigators suspect these payments were made in exchange for confidential blueprints related to BARC and other nuclear facilities.