2 held in Surat for forging documents like Aadhaar, PAN cards using website
police say it's serious national security issue
Surat (PTI): Two persons have been arrested in Gujarat's Surat city for allegedly forging documents like Aadhaar and PAN cards as well as voter IDs using a website, thereby posing a serious threat to national security, a police official said.
The accused were accessing government database, which is a case of illegal authorisation and a serious issue, the official said on Monday.
He said the accused forged around two lakh identity proof documents like Aadhaar and PAN cards and sold them for Rs 15 to Rs 200 each.
Acting on a complaint received from the officials of a private lender that some persons got loans processed on the basis of fake documents and defaulted on repayment, six persons were arrested for forgery and cheating, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences) VK Parmar said.
During interrogation, one of the six accused, identified as Prince Hemant Prasad, said he accessed the website in question using his registered username and password to download forged Aadhaar and PAN cards on payment of Rs 15-50 per document, he said.
The fake identity cards downloaded from the website by making the payment were used for purposes like getting bank loans sanctioned and purchasing SIM cards, the official said.
One Somnath Pramodkumar, a resident of Ganganagar in Rajasthan, whose name was linked to a number of mobile numbers present on the website, was arrested
through technical surveillance, he said.
Another person, Premvirsinh Thakur, a resident of Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, on whose name the website was created, was also arrested, the official said.
"When questioned, they revealed to having forged around two lakh identity documents in two years. Somnath has studied till Class 5. He got technical help from certain people to carry out the illegal activity. The website was running since the last three years," he said.
"This is a serious national security issue. They are not changing but accessing the government database and that is a case of illegal authorisation," the official said.
It is possible that many more persons are behind this, Parmar said, adding the police have frozen Rs 25 lakh in the bank accounts of Pramodkumar and his mother.
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
