6 held for making fake passports

The Central Division police have arrested six persons, including two former employees of BangaloreOne, on the charge of preparing fake documents, including passports. 

The suspects have been identified as Saleem Sharif, 57, Muneer Ahmed, 45, Mohammad Iliyaz, 40, Mohammad Abdullah, 68, Siddaraju, 40 and Naveen, 21. Siddaraju and Naveen had earlier worked with Bangalore One, the police said.

The suspects have issued important documents like passports, birth certificates, death certificates, voter identity cards and transfer certificates to 25 persons so far. Their act came light when the Ashoknagar police interrogated one Anwar Hassan, who was arrested in connection with an attempt to murder by shooting at Chetan, one of the partners of Times Bar and Restaurant on Residency Road, a month ago. Hassan was involved in various criminal cases in Mangaluru and wanted to travel to Dubai to meet his handlers to get contracts (supari) to kill rich people who refused to pay money (hafta), the police added. 

Hassan claimed that he could not get a passport in Mangaluru because of his involvement in crimes and moved to Bengaluru only to get it. He was informed by a source about a group which prepared fake passports. Accordingly, he met the suspects and sought their help in getting the fake passport, the police said. The incident would have gone unnoticed had Hassan been not arrested, the police added.