Man held for printing smart voter ID cards

An owner of a photocopy centre was arrested from Bhiwandi in Thane district Thursday for allegedly printing smart voter identity cards through fraudulent means and selling them to people, the police said.

Police recovered 45 blank smart cards with the "Election Commission of India" printed on them and four smart cards with printed names from the centre run by the accused Asif Ziya Nihad Ahmed Ansari (25), an official said.

The smart cards bore forged signatures of "election officers" on the reverse side, he said.

Ansari used to obtain blank smart cards from his friend and print names and other details of voters on them with the use of a photoshopping software, the officer said.

The accused used to scan the signature of the election officer from original voter identification cards and got it printed on the smart cards.

The accused had no permission from the EC to print any such smart ID cards, he said, adding that Ansari used to charge Rs 100 per card.

He used to pay Rs 50 to his friend from whom he got the card printed on the smart card, according to police.

Further investigation is underway.