Delhi Police’s IFSO busted an inter-state racket selling forged identity documents like Aadhaar cards online via bkprint.in. Two accused, Bideshi Saw and Santosh Kumar, were arrested from Daman & Diu and Patna respectively in the major crackdown.
In a major breakthrough against organized cyber-enabled forgery, the Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO), Special Cell, Delhi Police on Monday busted an inter-state racket involved in the preparation and online sale of forged identity documents through a website bkprint.in. The operation resulted in the arrest of two accused persons, namely Bideshi Saw and Santosh Kumar.
Website Verification and Forgery Confirmation
During social media monitoring and cyber patrolling, information was received that forged government documents were being prepared and supplied online through the website bkprint.in on payment of money. Verification revealed that the website was offering services for the preparation of Aadhaar Cards, Voter Identity Cards, PAN-related documents, Residence Certificates, Caste Certificates, Birth/Death Certificates and other document-like records.
To verify the information, a dummy user account was created using a mobile number. The website required a wallet recharge before availing its services. Accordingly, an amount of Rs.100/- was transferred through the UPI ID displayed on the website. After confirmation of the wallet recharge, forged Aadhaar Card and Voter Identity Card were successfully generated by entering fictitious personal details and uploading a photograph. Examination of the generated Aadhaar document revealed that the QR Code merely reflected the particulars manually entered by the user and was not linked with any official Aadhaar database, thereby establishing the forged nature of the documents. The verification conclusively established that the website was facilitating the preparation and dissemination of forged Government identity documents for unlawful gain.
Arrest and Interrogation of Accused
During the investigation, the mobile number and UPI account used for receiving payments on the website were traced to accused Bideshi Saw, a resident of Daman & Diu. During investigation, accused Bideshi Saw was arrested from Daman & Diu. During the course of sustained interrogation, he disclosed that he was facilitating preparation of forged documents through a website bkprint.in in lieu of online payments and further revealed that the backend operations of the website were being managed by one Santosh Kumar, a resident of Patna, Bihar.
On the basis of technical evidence and further investigation, accused Santosh Kumar was traced to Patna, Bihar and arrested. Preliminary examination of the recovered digital devices revealed incriminating evidence including website source code, hosting configuration, customer records, technical files, payment-related information and chats exchanged with co-accused Bideshi Saw, establishing his active involvement in the development, maintenance and backend management of the websites used for preparation of forged documents.
Incriminating Evidence Recovered
Upon investigating further, one Realme Narzo 70 Pro 5G mobile phone, one Redmi mobile phone, one Lenovo IdeaPad laptop, and one QR Code Sound Box were recovered from accused Bideshi Saw. Whereas, an ASUS VivoBook laptop containing website source code and technical records and one mobile phone containing chats with co-accused Bideshi Saw, were recovered from accused Santosh Kumar.
Digital records relating to bkprint.in and bkprint.xyz, including source code, hosting details, customer database, technical files and payment-related information and electronic documents bearing the names “BKS” and “BKS Online Services” Was also recovered.
Ongoing Investigation
The offence has been found to be grave, organized and technology-driven, involving preparation and dissemination of forged government identity documents through online platforms for unlawful financial gain.
Further investigation is underway to identify additional associates, ascertain the complete customer database, trace the proceeds of crime, examine the role of other facilitators and identify persons who procured or misused forged documents generated through the website. (ANI)
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