Police uncover bail fraud; Sohna worker’s papers used to furnish bail in over 15 cases

The police said at least nine FIRs were registered at different police stations in the city on Monday and three more would be registered once the probe is complete and the evidence has been collected.

The police, on Tuesday, uncovered a scam involving the forgery of bail bonds, in which at least three persons were allegedly using forged documents as surety while using the identity of a Sohna-based man to bail out accused persons in criminal cases, most of which involved theft.

Since four FIRs have already been registered, the new ones once filed would take the total number of cases to 16. (HT Photo)

The police said at least nine FIRs were registered at different police stations in the city on Monday and three more would be registered once the probe is complete and the evidence has been collected.

Since four FIRs have already been registered, the new ones once filed would take the total number of cases to 16.

The police said the scam was reported when Gulab, a labourer from village Sancholi in Sohna, received a notice from the district court in Sohna in 2016, asking him to appear before the court as he had posted a bail for an accused person.

Gulab denied appearing in court and posting bail for anyone and apprised the duty magistrate of the same. The police, upon investigation, found that the accused persons, who were well versed in court procedures, had been using forged documents of Gulab to help accused persons in theft cases to get bail.

The police said a special investigation team (SIT) was formed on May 29 and after investigation, directions were issued to register 12 cases at police stations in the city. “The main accused is already in jail. We will take him on production warrant and question him about the nexus and his aides,” said Veer Singh, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Pataudi, who is part of the SIT.

The police said upon the arrest of an accused person, an aide of the accused person would take the help of lawyer and pretend to be Gulab and produce his forged documents (Aadhaar card, photo, etc.) to post his bail. On the next hearing date, the person who posted surety would not appear in court, prompting the court to issue a warrant against Gulab asking him to appear in court.

The police said that it was not certain why the accused persons had targeted Gulab or how they obtained his documents.

A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said the involvement of a lawyer and his alleged nexus with the arrested person is being suspected in the scam.

According to the police, six cases were registered in Shivaji Nagar, one case in Sohna City and two cases at the Manesar police station. The police added that a majority of cases were related to theft.