2 held in Surat for forging Aadhaar, PAN cards using website

Surat, Sep 12 (IANS) Two persons have been arrested in Surat for their alleged involvement in fabricating crucial documents such as Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and voter IDs through a website, raising serious concerns about national security, a police official said.

The accused were found to be illicitly accessing government databases, a grave case of unauthorised access with far-reaching implications, according to the official.

The arrest took place on September 11.

Upon questioning, it was revealed that the accused had collectively forged around two lakh identity documents within a span of two years, the official added.

One of the accused, Somnath Pramodkumar, having completed his education up to Class 5, allegedly received technical assistance from certain individuals to execute these illegal activities. The illicit website had been operational for the past three years.

The investigation leading to these arrests was initiated following a complaint filed by officials from a private lender.

The complaint revealed instances where individuals had availed loans based on counterfeit documents and subsequently defaulted on repayment. Consequently, six individuals were taken into custody on charges of alleged forgery and cheating, said Assistant Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences), V.K. Parmar.

During the course of the inquiry, one of the six accused, identified as Prince Hemant Prasad, revealed that he had accessed the implicated website using his registered username and password, he added.

Through this illicit access, Prasad had been downloading counterfeit Aadhaar and PAN cards for a payment ranging from Rs 15-50 per document.

The accused reportedly engaged in the forgery of nearly two lakh identity proof documents, including Aadhaar and PAN cards, which they subsequently sold for amount ranging from Rs 15-200 per document.

The spurious identity cards acquired via this website were employed for various fraudulent activities such as securing bank loans and procuring SIM cards, the official added.

The police have consequently frozen Rs 25 lakh held in the bank accounts of Pramodkumar and his mother.

The investigation into this case remains ongoing.

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