Gang that forged documents busted in Agra

Forged documents, rubber stamps of various police stations, holograms, vehicle registration forms, blank voter ID cards, driving licences and government water-mark papers, as also marks-sheets were recovered in a raid on a gang of forgers here, police said Sunday. Three people were arrested and investigators were looking for six more in this connection.

Police raided an office in Shakti Market of Balkeshwar in Agra Saturday evening. Sleuths of the crime branch were taken aback to see that the forged documents were being sent across the country.

Senior Superintendent of Police Subhash Chandra Dubey told reporters that the gang had been active for quite some time, forging documents and driving licences for use in various states, including Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Three members of the gang were arrested and the owner of a digital coloured photocopy shop in the posh Kamla Nagar has also been booked.

On Sunday, investigators were looking for at least six agents, who lured people from Transport Nagar, the Road Transport Office, and various other places, to the forged documents shop.

Officials said they suspected some of the forged documents may have been used to secure bail for criminals.

Some clerks of the civil court were suspected of working in connivance with the gang.

The master-minds in the scam were identified as Mohit and Ashwin Thakur.

Sources said during the admission season, the gang was seen working overtime to produce fake marks-sheets of various institutions.

Mohit Thakur told police that he was skilled in the use of computers, and worked with ease on software like CorelDraw.