The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested the alleged mastermind of an inter-state racket involved in preparing forged Indian identity documents to fraudulently obtain Aadhaar cards and other official documents for Rohingya, Bangladeshi, Nepali and other foreign nationals.
The accused, identified as Saddam, a resident of Ward Number 3, Rahmanpur under Raghunathganj police station in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, was carrying a reward of ₹25,000. He was arrested from Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district on Wednesday.
According to the ATS, the racket used forged Indian documents, including birth certificates, domicile certificates and school certificates, to facilitate the issuance of Aadhaar cards and other identity documents to ineligible persons, including foreign nationals.
The agency said that it had earlier busted the organised network, which allegedly exploited the Aadhaar enrolment system by using Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology to remotely access authorised enrolment systems and generate Aadhaar cards through fraudulent means.
During the investigation, the ATS found that the syndicate had created fake foundational documents and also fraudulently obtained Aadhaar operator login credentials, which were allegedly misused to enrol individuals who were otherwise ineligible for Indian identity documents.
So far, 17 members of the racket have been arrested from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar in connection with the case.
{{/usCountry}}So far, 17 members of the racket have been arrested from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar in connection with the case.
{{/usCountry}}The ATS said Saddam was one of the principal masterminds behind the network and had been absconding, prompting the announcement of a ₹25,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Following his arrest in West Bengal, the accused was brought to Uttar Pradesh on transit remand. The ATS said it would seek police custody remand from the competent court for detailed interrogation to uncover the full extent of the network, identify additional associates and ascertain the number of fraudulent identity documents generated through the racket.
A mobile phone was recovered from the accused during the arrest. Investigators are expected to examine its digital contents for further leads into the inter-state network and its operations.