Pune Police bust fake surety racket; two lawyers among 11 arrested
The accused set up a network of fake sureties, facilitating bail for criminals using forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, official stamps, and fabricated guarantors
The Pune police have busted a racket involved in fake bail sureties and arrested two lawyers on Sunday, Wanowrie police station officials said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Aslam Gafur Sayyad, 45, of Vaidwadi in Hadapsar and Yogesh Suresh Jadhav, 43, also from Hadapsar. The duo was produced before a local court and granted police custody till February 5.
According to the police, individuals are often reluctant to act as guarantors for criminals seeking bail due to the associated legal risks. Exploiting this hesitation, the accused set up a network of fake sureties, facilitating bail for criminals using forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, official stamps, and fabricated guarantors.
On January 4, the police acting on a tip-off laid a trap at Lashkar Court and arrested Santoshkumar Telang along with five others who had appeared as fake guarantors. However, the prime accused, Farhan alias Bablu Shaikh, managed to escape.
The nabbed accused told the police officials that lawyers, judicial employees, and others were involved in producing fake documents to secure bail. The police on January 9 arrested Darshan Ashok Shah, 45, of Camp, for producing fake stamps; Piraji alias Chandrakant Maruti Shinde, 60, of Moshi, for providing fake ration cards; and Gopal Pundalik Kamgane, 35, from Morwadi in Pimpri. Police also seized 95 suspected ration cards, Aadhaar cards, rubber stamps, and other forged documents.
On January 15, Telang confessed in his statement that lawyers Sayyad, Jadhav, and another suspect, Narayan Jadhav, who is still at large, had arranged for him to pose as a guarantor in court in exchange for money. Later, the Wanowrie police arrested the two lawyers taking the total accused apprehended in the case so far to 11.
Investigations revealed that the accused had facilitated bail in 24 cases at Lashkar Court, Wanowrie, involving serious crimes such as attempted murder, robbery, snatching, housebreaking, and forgery.
Raj Kumar Shinde, deputy commissioner of police (Zone 5), said, “The operation was based on intelligence inputs. The accused targeted relatives of criminals, promising them bail in exchange for money. Guarantors were brought from Mumbai by offering them money, food, and transport charges.”
Satyajeet Admane, senior inspector, Wanowrie Police Station, said, “The lawyers used the same individuals with different identity cards for multiple bail applications.”
Dhanaji Tone, sub-inspector and investigation officer, said, “Farhan and Telang were the masterminds behind the operation. Farhan was responsible for arranging fake documents, while Telang managed guarantors from Mumbai, Pune, and adjoining areas by offering them ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 per appearance.”
Police suspect the accused are part of a larger racket facilitating fake guarantors for criminals. The Wanowrie police have filed a case against the accused under Sections 319(2), 318(4), 338(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
