Delhi: Woman arrested with forged diplomatic plates on car linked to several top-BJP leaders
Represented India as ambassador at BRICS: Reports
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New Delhi: The Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Cell of the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested a woman from Assam over charges of impersonating a foreign diplomat and driving an Innova car with forged diplomatic number plates to gain access to high-security areas of the national capital. The arrest that came days before the 77th Republic Day has made headlines across the country.
The arrested woman has been identified as Ashma Begum, a resident of Guwahati in Assam. She was detained on January 15 while driving the Toyota Innova car fitted with forged diplomatic number plates in the national capital. Police recovered three forged embassy number plates, a mobile phone and sale documents of the vehicle.
According to the reports, the police detained her while working on a tip-off. The cops have also added that she also used the fake diplomatic identity to gain access to restricted areas including housing central government offices, embassies, consulates and residences of foreign diplomats.
Sources in the police department have also revealed that Ashma had also attended several embassy-hosted event and gathering while posing as a diplomat.
During preliminary questioning, the accused failed to identify the embassy she claimed to represent or produce any valid diplomatic credentials or vehicle registration documents. She later told investigators that she had purchased the SUV from a foreign embassy in November 2024 but had not completed the registration process.
The controversy has deepened on the internet after fact-checker and journalist Mohammed Zubair tweeted several of her photos taken alongside BJP leaders and ministers including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kiren Rejiju, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale and others.
Zubair further claimed that the woman was serving as the National Secretary of the Republic Party of India led by Union Minister Ramdas Athawale. He also claimed that Ashma had represented India as Ambassador and delivered keynote presentations at the opening and closing ceremonies at BRICS.
A case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The accused has been remanded to six days of police custody, and her digital data and activities are being examined to ascertain the duration of the alleged impersonation and identify possible accomplices.
Name of the Woman: Ashma Begum. No News Channels mention her name and party affiliation. She is a National Secretary of the Republican Party of India by @RamdasAthawale. She also represented India as Ambassador and delivered keynote presentations at the opening and closing… pic.twitter.com/rYcF8Lgejt
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) January 24, 2026
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Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah accuses EC of ‘bias’, defends state guarantee schemes ahead of bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of "double standards" and "bias" after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday.
In a post on 'X' on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls.
The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively.
The schemes are Gruha Jyothi, which provides 200 units of free electricity to every household; Gruha Lakshmi, offering Rs 2,000 to women heading families; and Anna Bhagya, supplying 10 kg of rice per month to each member of BPL families.
In addition, Yuva Nidhi grants Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders aged 18–25 for two years, while Shakti enables women to travel free of charge within Karnataka on government non-luxury buses.
Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a "clear case of bias".
"In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality—it is complicity," he said.
The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of "a double standard", noting that when they act, the ECI "looks the other way", but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces "intense scrutiny".
He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is "not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka."
Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections.
Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.
"The guarantees are part of governance—a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement," he said.
He also accused the BJP of "hypocrisy", saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as "freebies", it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs.
"The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach," Siddaramaiah added.
