Two held for forging over 2 lakh IDs like Aadhaar, PAN; police flag it as national security issue

Two persons arrested in Gujarat's Surat for forging documents like Aadhaar, PAN cards, and voter IDs. They accessed govt. database, forged two lakh identity proof documents and sold them for ₹15-200 each. Police arrested six persons, two of whom were masterminds behind the crime.

Two persons have been arrested in Gujarat's Surat for allegedly forging documents like Aadhaar and PAN cards as well as voter IDs using a website, thereby posing a serious threat to national security, a police official said.

The accused were accessing government database, which is a case of illegal authorisation and a serious issue, the official said on Monday.

He said the accused forged around two lakh identity proof documents like Aadhaar and PAN cards and sold them for ₹15 to ₹200 each.

Acting on a complaint received from the officials of a private sector bank that some persons got loans processed on the basis of fake documents and defaulted on repayment, six persons were arrested around two weeks back for forgery and cheating, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences) V.K. Parmar said.

During interrogation, one of them, identified as Prince Hemant Prasad, said he accessed the website in question using his registered username and password to download forged Aadhaar and PAN cards on payment of ₹15-50 per document, he said.

Based on the input, the police launched an investigation into the website.

The fake identity cards downloaded from the website by making the payment were used for purposes like getting bank loans sanctioned and purchasing SIM cards, the official said.