The Chembur police have arrested five accused for allegedly preparing forged bus passes in the name of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) and providing them to people for lower rates.
The racket was busted when a conductor on duty on a BEST bus from Vashi Naka in Chembur to Kurla checked the monthly pass of a commuter identified as Shahabuddin Sheikh (25). He found it suspicious as the picture on the pass seemed to be different from the usual format, the police said.
“The conductor took Mr. Sheikh to the Kurla bus depot, where senior officials examined the pass and found that a picture of Mr. Sheikh had been superimposed digitally on a pass originally made out to a bonafide holder. They informed the Chembur police and a team was sent to the depot to conduct further inquiries,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VI) Shahaji Umap said.
When Mr. Sheikh was questioned, he gave up the identity of the person who had provided him with the pass, Mr. Umap said. The police then arrested Ankit Jadhav (26), an employee of the Trimax Pvt. Ltd., which has the contract for making official BEST passes at the Wadala bus depot.
Mr. Jadhav’s colleagues, Arjun Patel (43), Anurag Tiwari (21) and Kushal Patil (23), were also arrested. The three would gather customers and bring them to Mr. Jadhav, who would then create forged passes using details of bonafide pass holders in the bus depot’s system, the police said.
“Inquiries indicate that the gang has sold around 300 to 400 forged passes till date, causing losses of thousands of rupees to the BEST. We are tracing and identifying these customers,” Mr. Umap said.