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Fake RC racket’s kingpin operated gang from Nabha jail: Mohali police
Police had recovered 15 counterfeit RCs. The fake documents included a Maharashtra RC among Punjab certificates; They used to print the certificates at a printing press in Balongi; Cops also recovered two printers, a keyboard and a laptop
Two days after police arrested four men for duping people by selling them fake registration certificates (RCs) of their vehicles, employees of the transport department are now under police lens.
According to police, the gang was successful in uploading the details of one RC on the government “Vahan” portal.
The accused were identified as Harsh, Arjun Kumar of Raipur, Mohali, Swaran Prajapati of Balongi and Hira Singh of Hanumangarh, Rajasthan.
Police had recovered 15 counterfeit RCs. The fake documents included a Maharashtra RC among Punjab certificates. They used to print the certificates at a printing press in Balongi. Cops also recovered two printers, a keyboard and a laptop.
SP investigation Jyoti Yadav said since one fake RC was uploaded on the government portal, there was a possibility of involvement of officials or staff from transport department.
Meanwhile the alleged mastermind Hira Singh, according to police, is lodged in Nabha Jail in a murder case and was operating the racket while being under captivity.
Hira Singh was earlier booked in a similar fake RC fraud case by Zirakpur police in 2022.
Police are now investigating how Hira Singh managed to sneak the mobile phone inside the jail through which he contacted the co-accused to operate the nexus. Hira Singh had came in contact with co-accused Harsh while they both were earlier lodged at Ropar jail.
Explaining the modus operandi, SP Yadav said that the accused used to market themselves on Facebook, where they used to upload available number with them after hiding a few digits claiming that they could provide the RCs of these numbers.
“When the victims contacted them, they used to make a proper file to make the fraud seem genuine. The victims, rather than adopting a legal process, chose this way out as the accused offered a simple way to get RCs made. We are now verifying whether the victims wanted to buy RCs for stolen vehicles,” Yadav added.
Station house officer (SHO) Jaspreet Singh said the victims whose vehicles crossed the permissible years of usage approached them thinking that they would be able to continue using their vehicles after getting a new RC made at a cheaper price. The accused charged upto ₹25,000 per RC.
All the accused have been booked under Sections 420 (cheating),465 (forgery),467 (forgery of valuable security),468 (forgery for purpose of cheating),471 (using as genuine a forged document), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Sohana police station.
