MUMBAI: A fake entry ticket scam at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Borivali was recently busted by the police. A ticket seller has been arrested and his associate is wanted.The case came to light on Oct 6 when a forest official with the SGNP was approached by a visitor. The visitor alerted him that he had been given a torn entry ticket at the ticketing counter. To find out more details, the forest official went to the ticketing counter. He found that the ticket seller, Akash Sardar, had nine tickets in his possession where the print and the font was different from rest of the tickets kept for sale. The forest official immediately alerted Kasturba Marg police.Sardar was quizzed by the police. Initially, he gave evasive responses about the tickets but subsequently admitted that the tickets were fake. He said the tickets were being manufactured by an associate, Ganesh Thakur, and were provided to him for sale.Police arrested Sardar and are looking for Thakur. They have learnt that Thakur had a machine and software for manufacturing the tickets. “Only after arresting Thakur will it be clear as to how much was the SGNP being cheated in monetary terms,” said a police official.
