Pune Police has busted a racket involving fake bail sureties, arresting a total of 11 people, including two lawyers, officials said on Monday. So far, the police have seized 91 fake ration cards, 11 fake Aadhar cards and other forged documents, they added.
According to the police, the accused have been identified as Santoshkumar Telang (32), a resident of Hadapsar, Jitendra Karangutkar (49), a resident of Thane, Subhash Trotre (40), a resident of Ambegaon, Dhayneshwar Shinde (50), a resident of Khed, Darsan Shah (45), a resident of Pulgate, Chandrakant Maruti Shinde (60), a resident of Moshi, Gopal Pundlik Kangane (35), a resident of Pimpri, Sanjay Padwal (42) and Sujit Satpal (36), both residents of Mumbai. Additionally, advocates Aslam Sayyed (45) and Yogesh Jadhav (43) — both residents of Hadapsar—have been held.
People are reluctant to stand as guarantors for criminals during the bail procedure due to fear of legal complications. Taking advantage of this, the accused established a network of fake sureties to manipulate the judicial system. They helped criminals secure bail with the help of fake documents such as Aadhar cards, ration cards, official stamps and even guarantors, said the police.
The accused have provided bail in 24 cases at Lashkar Court, Wanawadi. These cases are related to multiple serious crimes such as attempts to murder, robbery, snatching, housebreaking, forgery and others, they added.
Speaking about the case, Raj Kumar Shinde, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) said, "We got a tip-off about the fake surety racket. Acting on the information, police laid a trap at Lashkar Court premises and arrested Santoshkumar Telang and five other fake guarantors. However, the main accused Farhan alias Bablu Shaikh, a resident of Hadapsar, managed to escape. Following the investigation, it came to light that Darshan Ashok Shah was arrested for manufacturing fake rubber stamps and seals. Chandrakant Maruti Shinde and Gopal Pundlik Kangane were arrested on January 9 for providing fake ration cards. During the investigation, accused Santoshkumar Telang revealed that advocates Aslam Syed, Yogesh Jadhav and Narayan Jadhav (yet to be arrested) had played a key role in arranging fake sureties and securing bail for criminals in exchange for money."
"Based on the evidence, both advocates were arrested on February 2. The sureties were facilitated with cash. For conveyance, they used to charge Rs 1,500 to 2,000. For making bogus papers, they charged Rs 3,000 to 4,000. The accused targeted the relatives of criminals, approaching them with assurances of providing bail. The scam was operated accordingly, and they made money through this process. These were serious crimes, so it was tough for advocates to seek bail. Taking advantage of this, their modus operandi was successful. So far, they have provided multiple bails in 24 cases at Lashkar Court, Wanawadi, Pune. Moreover, the investigation revealed that multiple lawyers and staff could be involved in the scam. The investigation is ongoing, and more suspects will be arrested soon," he added.
A case has been registered at Wanawadi Police Station under sections 319(2), 318(4), 338(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2), and 3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
