Tour Operators Arrested For Making Fake Travel e-Passes

The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a gang of tour operators of 4 members for making fake e-passes and medical certificates to travel within the state from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) during the lockdown.

The police said that three of them were unemployed since the lockdown started, so they moved to this work to make easy money.

They used to charge from Rs 2,000 to 5,000.

Once a customer came to them to rent a car, and they told him that they can create an e-pass for him because they know people in the police department.

The accused have been identified as –

1. Sindhudurg resident Abdul Karim Mohammad Shaikh alias Aslam, 35;
2. Girgaum residents Samir Shamsuddin Shaikh, 36;
3. and Noor Mohammad Abdul Gani Shaikh, 39;
4. and Vasai resident Vinay Mohan Parte, 36.

Shaikh, Samir, and Noor operate a travel company in Mumbai, while Pate runs a computer class in Vasai.

• Also Read – Mumbai Airport: Domestic And International Quarantine Rules

“Based on the tip-off, an officer approached Shaikh posing as a customer and asked for a police e-pass to travel to Satara from Mumbai. The documents were sent on WhatsApp,” said senior inspector Ashok Khot of unit 3.

The police suspect that the accused supplied at least 1,000 fake e-passes.

“We have seized printouts of some of the e-passes issued by them on behalf of Mumbai Police and Thane Collector’s office,” said Ashok Khot, senior inspector, Crime Branch.

Officials said they used to make changes in the e-passes on computers, altering names and addresses to make them appear as new ones.

• E-pass has become very important as the government made it mandatory for travel both within and outside the MMR in view of the lockdown.

The police also seized the laptop, mobile phones and several fake e-passes from the accused.

“It appears that someone in authority may have also helped the gang. We are probing further,” said police inspector Nitin Patil.

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The four were produced in a local court and remanded in police custody till Monday.

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Safe travelling!

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