M’luru police bust fake Aadhaar racket used to secure bail

Mangaluru: A major forgery racket involving the creation of fake Aadhaar cards and land documents to obtain bail for criminal accused has been uncovered in Mangaluru, with police arresting five individuals. According to police, the racket came to light when forged documents were detected in court proceedings. Urwa police, acting on a Central Crime Branch complaint, first arrested Abdul Rehman (46) of Bappanadu. He admitted to using forged papers to secure bail for undertrials.

Based on his inputs, police picked up Nishanth Kumar (28), an employee at a computer centre in Kodialbail, who allegedly assisted in preparing the documents. Further investigation linked the racket to cases registered at Mangaluru North Police Station. In one, Nithin Kumar (31) of Bantwal impersonated “Ganesh K. Salyan” with a doctored Aadhaar to stand surety. In another, Hasan Riyaz (46) of Sajipa Munnur assumed the identity of “A.M. Hameed” to mislead the court. A fifth accused, Mohammed Hanif of Kavoor, is said to have acted as a broker, facilitating forged documents.

Police said the accused inserted their own photographs into forged Aadhaar cards, enabling them to appear before courts as genuine sureties. At least two undertrials benefited from such fraudulent bail sureties.

Commissioner of Police Sudhir Kumar Reddy, IPS, said more people may be involved in the network. “The investigation is being widened to trace all links in the forgery chain,” he said.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of DCPs Mithun H.N. (Law and Order) and K. Ravishankar (Cr ime and Traffic). Officials said further arrests are likely as the probe continues.