An investigation into a suspected Army recruitment scam has led the City police to crackdown on a major document forgery racket involved in producing numerous fake documents including identification cards and certificates issued by educational establishments.
Three persons were apprehended by the city shadow police team and later arrested by the Poojappura police on Monday during an investigation launched into complaints filed in many police stations. The accused have been identified as Sanish, 38, hailing from Kollam and residing in PTP Nagar, Kamalesh Krishna alias Kamalu, 32, of Malayam, and Hari, 36, of Anayara.
Sanish was initially apprehended by the police on the basis of complaints that were submitted by around 30 youths to the City Police Commissioner. They said they were defrauded of large sums of money, purportedly amounting to ₹90 lakh, after being assured of recruitment to the Army. Sanish used to allegedly masquerade as an Army official at recruitment camps and target candidates who had cleared the ground test.
“After gaining their trust, Sanish would assure them of jobs by asking them to comply with his directions. He used to collect varying sums after claiming that they were for purposes such as getting their applications passed by the medical board. In order to reinforce their trust, the accused would also show candidates forged documents that carried their name to claim that their applications were being processed. Some complainants were made to pay as high as ₹3 lakh. Those who were unable to pay were required to hand over gold ornaments,” an official said.
A detailed probe into the scam revealed that the prime accused was assisted by others Kamalesh and Hari, who were experts in forging documents. The gang was allegedly found to have been involved in producing fake documents that resembled Voter’s ID, Aadhaar card, Driving licence, and SSLC certificates, besides certificates being issued by various establishments including University of Kerala, Mahatma Gandhi University, Annamalai University, Kerala State Board of Technical Education, and the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council.
The police confiscated a large number of items including computers, hard disks, flash drives, printers, rubber stamps, lamination machines and many fake documents from Kamalesh’s possession. Forged stamps of countries including Oman and Kuwait were also seized.
Cases have been registered in connection with similar complaints in various police stations including those in Vattiyurkavu, Kollam West, Kollam East and Eravipuram. The police operation was led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Arul. R.B. Krishna and Assistant Commissioner (Control Room) V. Suresh Kumar.