Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a husband-wife duo for allegedly running a fake document racket that aided illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in obtaining forged Indian identity papers.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Purushottam Prasad Sharma (57) and his wife Manju Purushottam Sharma alias Manju (42). Acting on a tip-off, a crime branch team raided their residence in Sai Sawali Co-operative Housing Society, New MHADA Colony, and seized a cache of forged documents.
Forged IDs, SIMs, and Digital Evidence Seized
During the search, officers recovered a laptop, four mobile phones with multiple SIM cards, two Aadhaar cards, two PAN cards in different names, and a voter ID card linked to Manju Sharma. The police also confiscated bank passbooks, cheque books, and a red pen drive suspected to contain data related to the racket’s operations.
Manju Entered India Illegally, Lived Undetected for 12 Years
According to officials, Manju Sharma is originally a Bangladeshi national who has been living illegally in India for the past 12 years using forged identification. She reportedly entered India through an agent and later married Purushottam Sharma, who allegedly helped her procure fraudulent Indian identity documents.
Bangladeshi Agents Suspected in Cross-Border Operation
Preliminary investigations suggest the accused had links with agents operating in Bangladesh who facilitated the influx of illegal immigrants into India.
Case Registered Under BNS and Passport Act
The crime branch has registered a case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) — Sections 318 (cheating), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 340 (using forged documents as genuine), 2612 (criminal conspiracy), 249 (criminal breach of trust), and 3 (offenses by organized crime groups), along with relevant sections of the Passport Act.
Accused in Custody, Probe Into International Links Ongoing
Both accused are currently in custody. Further investigation is underway to uncover the full extent of the racket and identify their international links.
