Hyderabad: Fake Document Racket Busted; 6 Held, 7 Absconding

Hyderabad: In a major crackdown, the Special Operations Team (SOT) of LB Nagar Zone, in coordination with the Saroor Nagar Police busted an extensive fake document racket operating out of Hyderabad and adjoining districts. Acting on credible information, the police raided Saathwik Enterprises located near the Municipal Office in Saroor Nagar, uncovering a sophisticated forgery network that had been operating for several years. Six persons were arrested during the operation, while seven others remain absconding.

The investigation revealed that Thota Venkata Bhanu Prakash, the owner of Saathwik Enterprises, along with his wife Thota Sagarika, had been running the fake document operation for nearly nine years. What began as a legitimate notary and documentation service gradually evolved into a large-scale criminal enterprise. Initially, they were preparing lawful documents using genuine non-judicial stamp papers. However, over time, Bhanu Prakash began procuring outdated and unused stamp papers from known associates, including stamp vendors and court document writers.

Using chemical substances like Rin Ala and thinner, they erased the original contents on the stamp papers and reused them to fabricate counterfeit sale deeds, birth and caste certificates, and other official documents. Forged rubber stamps and fake signatures of government officials, advocates, and medical professionals were used to give the forged documents an appearance of authenticity. The documents were sold to clients, including land grabbers and those looking to fraudulently secure loans or benefits, for amounts ranging between ₹5,000 and ₹20,000.

Among those arrested were individuals engaged in document writing, rubber stamp manufacturing, and the sale of forged papers. One of the accused, Syed Feroz Ali, a document writer at the City Civil Court, has a history of similar offences and was previously booked in multiple forgery-related cases across different police stations in Hyderabad. Another key accused, Addaguduru Chandrashekar, a known figure in the stamp paper trade, supplied outdated legal stationery to the prime accused. His son, also arrested, acted as a document vendor.

Further investigation revealed the involvement of several outsourcing employees from municipal offices in Narsingi, Kamareddy, and Bandlaguda Jagir. These persons helped in issuing official birth certificates through Mee Seva centers without the necessary supporting documents. The gang, in collaboration with accused Jaleel and Mallesh Goud, managed to issue nearly 181 fake birth certificates over the past one and a half years.

Police have seized a large cache of evidence, including 571 non-judicial and forged stamp papers of various denominations, 48 fake birth certificates, 11 fake income certificates, 5 fake caste certificates, two computer systems, and forged rubber stamps belonging to various government officials and notaries.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).