Police bust fake bail bonds racket, arrest five

Police said the gang's leader would visit metropolitan magistrate courts across the city asking people if they needed sureties for bail

MUMBAI: The Mumbai crime branch has busted a fake bail bonds racket that arranged bogus documents and fake sureties to get arrested persons in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane released on bail. Five people have been arrested in connection with this.

Sanjeev Gupta the Kigpin

Unit 6 of the crime branch on Thursday raided the office of one of the accused in Mankhurd area and seized bogus electricity bills, employee identity cards, salary slips and even ration-cards and bank statements from there.

The arrested are Amit Narayan Gije, 44, Bandu Vaman Korde, 44, Ahmed Qasim Shaikh, 44, Sanjeev Sohanlal Gupta, 34, and Umesh Arjun Kawle, 48. They accused were produced before a metropolitan magistrate court on Thursday and remanded in police custody till April 10.

Calling Sanjeev Gupta the kingpin of the racket, police said Gupta would visit metropolitan magistrate courts across the city and approach relatives and advocates of arrested people and ask if they needed sureties for bail. Once he got the “order”, he would delegate to Umesh Kawle the job of preparing forgeries and fake documents. “Gupta charged between ₹15,000 and ₹50,000 – depending on the seriousness of the case for providing sureties in each case,” said police inspector Ravindra Salunkhe of Unit 6.

Salunkhe said they received a tip-off about the racket and raided a room in Mankhurd on Wednesday, seizing several forged and fabricated documents. The room was rented in the name of Amit Gije who along with Korde and Shaikh prepared the fake documents like Aadhaar cards, pay slips, bank statements, ration cards. The accused also used fake rubber stamps of various government and private offices on the bogus documents to make them look like originals, Salunkhe added.

Police said Kawle, besides helming the preparation of bogus documents, would also arrange for a person to appear with the fake documents and stand surety before the court. Kawle would tutor the provider of fake surety on how to conduct himself in court, said Vishal Thakur, deputy commissioner of police, crime branch.

Thakur added that Gupta used to pay ₹1,000 to the persons who appeared as sureties before the court officers with the fake documents and Rs. 500 or 1,000 to his team members for each surety.

The police arrested Gije and Korde during the raid in Mankhurd whereas Shaikh was arrested from Ghatkopar. Gupta was arrested from his residence in Bhiwandi and Kawle was arrested from Kalyan, said a police officer.

During the raid, the police found several fake Aadhaar cards, ration cards, identity cards of different companies, PAN cards, municipal tax receipts, solvency certificates, as well as a laptop, a printer, and a mini laminator. Police officials said that some of the Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, ration cards were created with different names but using the same photo.

A case has been registered in the Mankhurd police station against the accused under various charges including cheating, forgery, making counterfeit seals and criminal conspiracy.

In 2018, the Mumbai crime branch had cracked down on touts arranging for fake sureties in criminal cases. During the drive, the police arrested over two dozen accused and registered several cases against them.