Port Blair, Jan. 9: In a major success in the first week of the New Year, Police have busted a fake driving license racket in the city and arrested eight persons for forgery and cheating. Fake DL and incriminating materials have been seized from them. The kingpin Mohd. Sajid was running this business along with Abdul Sajid and K. P. Ibrahim by forging driving licenses on a computer in an internet café and supplying them to unscrupulous customers for up to Rs. 5000.

To unearth the clandestine business of forged government certificates, Aberdeen police was tracking suspected elements and gathering intelligence. Under the supervision of South Andaman ASP Shri Chinmoy Biswal, a special team comprising of ASI M.A. Rasheed, HC Surya Narayan, HC Sanjay Kujur, PC Manpal, PC Ashish, PC Imran along with SI Vijay Kumar and SHO Stalin nabbed the accused persons in a carefully planned operation.

On a credible information, the kingpin of the racket Mohd. Sajid (22),  r/o South Point along with his associates Abdul Sajid (25), Pan shopkeeper, r/o Atlanta point and K.P. Ibrahim (27), Auto driver, r/o Manarghat were nabbed while trying to deliver fake DL to customers on 03 January. Four licenses along with pen drive were recovered from them. Further, articles used in forging the documents such as laminating sheets, passport size photographs of persons, microchip were recovered from house search.

On interrogation, they revealed that they had collected money from five willing persons and supplied them fake DL. The five are C.H. Viswanath (21), Tourist Guide, r/o Marine Hill, Nirmal Nagendra Kumar (28), Manager of hotel Dream Palace r/o Haddo, Biswanath Gunri (25), r/o Haddo, Panchanan Mandal (35), r/o Bambooflat and Naseer Khan (20) r/o Bambooflat who were immediately arrested with fake DL in their possession. Subsequently, scan copies of the driving licenses prepared by the racket have been recovered from the email account of the Mohd. Sajid.

A case has been registered at P.S. Aberdeen u/s 420/468/471/109/34 IPC and the accused persons have been sent to judicial custody. Further investigation is in progress to ascertain the involvement of others and the full extent of this offence.