Times News NetworkKanpur: In a joint operation, police busted an organised gang operating under the cover of a cyber cafe to make fake government documents, and arrested three accused.Police recovered 120 birth-death certificates, 112 income-residence certificates, Aadhaar update documents bearing a fake MLA seal, fake identity cards, govt seals and equipment used to prepare documents from the spot. Police disclosed the case in a news conference at 4 pm on Friday. Police said they were searching for the entire network and other people linked to it.The Cyber Crime Cell (Western Zone) and Kalyanpur police received information that govt documents were being illegally prepared at Anandeshwar Cyber Cafe and hefty amounts were being collected from people. Acting on the tip-off, the joint team conducted a raid. During the operation, a large quantity of suspicious documents and equipment was recovered from the spot, leaving even the police surprised.According to police, 120 birth-death certificates, 112 income and residence certificates, and two Aadhaar update certificates bearing a fake MLA seal were recovered from the spot. Fake Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter IDs, driving licences, seals of various govt departments, stamps, computers, printers, scanners and other electronic equipment used in preparing documents were also seized.During the operation, police arrested Tejas Pal, a resident of Nankari, Nitesh Kumar, a resident of Naramau, and Anurag, a resident of Bamba Road. During questioning, the accused gave several important pieces of information. Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang prepared fake documents and provided them to people for govt schemes, jobs, banking and other work. Police said they were conducting raids to trace other members linked to the gang.Police were getting the recovered documents examined through forensic and technical investigation. It was being ascertained which govt portals or identity-related systems were misused in preparing the fake documents. It was also being investigated whether the gang’s network was limited to Kanpur or spread to other districts as well.DCP (West) SM Qasim Abidi said that a case was registered against the three accused under relevant sections. They were produced before the court, from where they were sent to jail. He said the search for other people linked to the gang is continuing and the entire network will be exposed soon.
