Five arrested in Mangaluru for forging Aadhaar, land records

Mangaluru: The CCB police have arrested five persons after busting a racket in Mangaluru where fake Aadhaar cards and pahani records were allegedly created and used to secure bail for accused persons in criminal cases.

Commissioner of Police Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H said three cases have been filed in connection with the racket and the arrested are Abdul Rehman (46), a resident of Bappanadu village, Mulki, Nishant Kumar (28), a resident of Ambika Road, Nithin Kumar (31),a resident of Pudu in, Bantwal, Hasan Riyaz (46), a resident of Indira Nagar, Sajipa Munnur, Bantwal and Mohammed Hanif (39), a resident of Kavoor-Palanir, Mangaluru.

The commissioner said initially police had detained Abdul Rehman from Urwa police station limits. During interrogation, it was revealed that he had used forged documents to help undertrials obtain bail from the court. Following a CCB complaint, a case was registered at Urwa Police Station.

Further investigation led to the arrest of Nishant Kumar, who was working at a computer centre in Kodialbail and had been assisting in creating fake documents. Both accused were produced before the court and remanded in police custody for interrogation.

The probe revealed that the gang was inserting their own photographs on fake Aadhaar cards and impersonating real individuals while appearing before courts, thereby misleading judges into granting bail to accused persons in at least two cases of murder and SC/ST atrocities.

The Commissioner said Mangaluru North Police also registered two additional cases. During investigation, it was found that Nithin Kumar (31), using the fake identity of Ganesh K Salian, had secured bail for an accused in a case registered in Mangaluru South Police Station.

Similarly, Hasan Riyaz (46), under the false name AM Hameed, had fraudulently obtained bail for another accused in a case. Mohammed Hanif is a broker who facilitated the fraudulent bail process.

The commissioner said similar frauds have also taken place in Udupi. After the first case was registered at Urwa police station, an individual checked his RTC and found that land had been attached using a fraudulent method.

The commissioner said that several more individuals may be involved in the racket, and the investigation is ongoing.