3,000 fake Garba passes seized; 4 arrested

Four persons, including a graphic designer, were arrested for selling fake passes for a garba event in Mumbai. Police seized around 3,000 fake passes with a value of ₹36 lakh from the accused.

Mumbai: Four persons, including a graphic designer, were arrested for allegedly selling fake passes for a garba event in Borivali. The police have seized around 3,000 fake passes with a face value of ₹36 lakh from the accused, identified as Karan Shah, 29, Darshan Gohil, 24, Paresh Nevrekar, 35, and Kavish Patil, 24.

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According to the police, Shah, who is a graphic designer, had made the passes. The police have also seized a printer and computer which were allegedly used to make the fake passes.

The complainant, Neerav Mehta, in charge of passes for Duragadevi Navratra Utsav Samiti-Borivali and BJP MLA Sunil Rane’s Rangratri Dandiya featuring singer Kinjal Dave, told the police that the passes for the events were being sold from a single authorised stall located at Kachhi Maidan on New Link Road, Borivali for ₹3,000 per pass for nine days.

“On October 14, four to five men in their twenties approached the stall manager at Kachhi Maidan, claiming that they had Garba passes for the event and wanted to find out whether they were genuine. The men said that they had bought these through a friend for ₹2,600 per pass. The organisers informed them that authentic passes were being sold only at their stall and at an online platform,” an officer from MHB Colony police station said.

“On examining the passes, the stall manager found that the serial numbers of the passes did not match the serial numbers issued by the organisers and confirmed that the passes were fake. The stall manager informed Mehta who unearthed the identity of the accused and then approached the police,” the officer added.

Based on the tip-off, the police arrested Shah, Gohil, Nevrekar, and Kavish Patil from their houses in Kandivali, Malad and Virar.