Pune police busts fake surety racket

In one of the biggest swoops in recent times, the Pune Police have busted a big racket involving the provision of fake documents to people to furnish surety and secure bail.

The police have arrested 37 persons including six women in the operation so far, which is being overseen by Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta.

It is estimated that the group has helped more than 25,000 persons in the last few years in securing bail based on fake sureties in courts.

“This is a big racket that we have busted. They were operating for a long time. Our investigations are still continuing,” Gupta said. The accused were helping people whose cases were underway in the district and judicial magistrate first-class courts.

“We have laid traps in multiple places and arrested the accused,” Gupta said, adding that they have been remanded to police custody till 26 December.

The accused were charging people for standing as surety for bail and providing fake documents including Aadhar cards, PAN cards, ration cards, property documents and 7/12 revenue extracts. They also provided photographs to establish fake identities.

According to initial investigations, several accused persons involved in alleged robberies, thefts, burglaries and sexual offenses managed to secure bail based on these fake sureties. The accused were charging between Rs 12,000 and Rs 20,000 to stand as fake sureties.

Nearly a fortnight ago, the Pune Police received top-secret information about five such gangs in operation and formed special teams, which carried out investigations and launched the crackdown.

The team was led by two Inspectors, 27 probationary sub-inspectors besides a large number of other ranks. When asked about the possible involvement of lawyers and others, Gupta said, “Investigations are still underway.”