On Monday, the Uttarakhand Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested three individuals from Rishikesh, including a Common Services Centre (CSC) administrator for providing fake identity documents including Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards, and Permanent Account Numbers (PAN cards) based on bogus or fabricated papers.
According to STF senior superintendent of police Ayush Agarwal, the three were apprehended on Monday evening from Rishikesh, only hours after an Aadhaar card and voter ID were given to a police proxy, a Nepalese national, for Rs 10,000. According to the ‘official’ identification papers provided by the accused, the Nepalese citizen was made to look like a resident of a village in the Pauri Garhwal area, 150 kilometers from Rishikesh.
फ़र्ज़ी पहचान पत्र बनाने वाले सेंटर का भंडाफोड़
— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) December 27, 2022
ऋषिकेश में नेपाली नागरिकों के फ़र्ज़ी डॉक्यूमेंट बनाने वाले सेंटर का भंडाफोड़ करते हुए #UttarakhanPolice STF ने 03 को किया गिरफ्तार। 68 आधार, 28 वोटर कार्ड, 17 PAN, 7 आयुष्मान कार्ड बरामद। #UKPoliceFightsCrime#ApraadhParPrahaar pic.twitter.com/gKTU0EFpWl
The accused first charged Rs 3000 and promised to issue voters ID and Aadhaar Card. On December 26, the Police busted the racket as the Nepalese were provided with a fake voter’s ID with the address of a village in Pauri Garhwal, and the form to issue Aadhaar Card was filled up.
Other suspects identified by police include CSC operator Lakshman Singh Saini’s brother, Babu Saini, and Bharat Singh, a Nepalese native who lives in the Kalyasaur region of Pauri Garhwal district.
According to the reports, CSC offers access points for vital public utility services, social assistance systems, and other government services via information technology. “So far, it has come to light that they were making fake identity documents of Nepalese citizens,” Agarwal said.
Agarwal went on to say that the use of fraudulent papers for official identity cards has long been a cause for concern since they may be used for criminal or anti-national actions.
Agarwal stated that the group is yet to figure out how many identity cards were issued in the previous year. “It appears to be a large racket,” the officer remarked, adding that they are investigating how they ensured field verification. Some other persons are likely engaged as well, he added.
The police in the case has recovered a total of 640 blank plastic cards, 200 lamination covers, 28 Voter IDs, 68 Aadhaar Cards, and 17 PAN cards. The police have also recovered 7 Ayushman cards and several electronic machines which were being used to make these fake documents.
The police confirmed that the said Common Services Center was in operation for the past 4 years and that it was run by accused Laxman Singh Saini. The other two accused were helping Laxman in making fake documents of Nepali people who came to Uttarakhand to work as laborers. All three accused in the case have been arrested by the Police under relevant sections of the law. Further investigations are underway.
