New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) Two persons were arrested as the Delhi Police Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) busted an inter-state cyber fraud racket allegedly involved in preparing and selling forged government identity documents through an online platform.
The accused were operating the website bkprint.in, which allegedly enabled users to generate fake Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards, PAN-related documents, residence certificates, caste certificates, birth and death certificates, and other forged government document-like records in exchange for online payments.
According to Delhi Police, the racket was engaged in preparing forged documents that closely resembled genuine government-issued identity records. These fake documents were capable of being misused for identity theft, impersonation, cheating, financial fraud, and even obtaining genuine government documents by using forged records.
The operation was launched after officials, during routine cyber patrolling and social media monitoring, received information that forged government documents were being prepared and supplied through the website. Preliminary verification revealed that the platform openly offered services related to the preparation of Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards, PAN-related documents, residence certificates, caste certificates, birth and death certificates, and several other document-like records.
To verify the information, investigators created a dummy user account using a mobile number. The website required users to recharge a digital wallet before accessing its services. Accordingly, investigators transferred Rs 100 through the UPI ID displayed on the website. After the wallet recharge was confirmed, officials successfully generated forged Aadhaar and voter identity cards by entering fictitious personal details and uploading a photograph.
Police said an examination of the generated Aadhaar document revealed that its QR code merely reflected the information manually entered by the user and was not linked to any official Aadhaar database. This established that the documents were forged despite their resemblance to authentic government-issued identity cards.
The verification conclusively established that the website was facilitating the preparation and distribution of forged government identity documents for unlawful financial gain. During the investigation, the mobile number and UPI account used to receive payments through the website were traced to one of the accused, Bideshi Saw, a resident of Daman & Diu.
Following this, a team headed by Inspector Satish Kumar and comprising SI Sumit Sehrawat, Head Constables Manoj Kumar and Rajesh, and Constable Ashish Rathi was constituted under the close supervision of ACP Vivekanand Jha and the overall supervision of DCP Vinit Kumar of the IFSO unit.
The team carried out extensive technical analysis, digital investigation, and field verification before arresting Saw, son of Suresh Saw and a resident of Somnath, Daman & Diu, from the Union Territory.
During sustained interrogation, Saw allegedly disclosed that he had been facilitating the preparation and sale of forged documents through bkprint.in in return for online payments. He further revealed that the website’s backend operations were being managed by Santosh Kumar, a resident of Patna.
Based on technical evidence and further investigation, police traced Santosh Kumar, son of late Saroj Kumar, and a resident of Ravi Chowk in Patna, and arrested him.
Preliminary examination of the digital devices recovered from Santosh Kumar revealed crucial evidence, including the website’s source code, hosting configuration, customer database, technical files, payment-related information, and chats exchanged with co-accused Saw. Investigators said these findings established his active involvement in developing, maintaining, and managing the backend infrastructure of the websites used for preparing forged documents.
According to police, customers visiting the website were required to recharge a digital wallet before placing orders. Once the payment was made, users could enter any personal details and upload photographs to generate forged Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards, PAN-related documents, and other government document-like records.
The accused designed the system in such a way that the QR codes generated on the forged documents stored only the information entered by users instead of linking to official government databases. This gave the fake documents the appearance of genuine government-issued records while making them suitable for misuse in identity theft, impersonation, cheating, financial fraud, and the procurement of authentic government documents through forged credentials.
According to investigators, Saw operated the website, received online payments through the linked UPI account, facilitated the preparation and supply of forged government documents, and coordinated with the backend developer for the operation of the portal.
Santosh Kumar allegedly designed, developed, and maintained the backend infrastructure of bkprint.in as well as bkprint.xyz. He was also responsible for managing website hosting, source code, customer databases, and other technical operations, enabling users to generate forged Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter identity cards, and other fake government documents by entering arbitrary personal information.
During the operation, police recovered two mobile phones, a laptop, and a QR code sound box from Saw.
From Santosh Kumar, investigators seized a laptop containing the website’s source code and technical records, a mobile phone containing chats with the co-accused, digital records relating to bkprint.in and bkprint.xyz, including hosting details, customer databases, payment-related information, and technical files, as well as electronic documents bearing the names “BKS” and “BKS Online Services.”
Delhi Police described the offence as a grave, organised, and technology-driven cybercrime involving the preparation and dissemination of forged government identity documents for unlawful financial gain. Further investigation is underway to identify other associates involved in the racket, ascertain the complete customer database, trace the proceeds of crime, examine the role of additional facilitators, and identify individuals who procured or misused forged documents generated through the website.
Delhi Police reiterated its commitment to combating cyber-enabled forgery and identity-related offences. It also advised citizens not to procure or use forged government documents and to immediately report any suspicious websites or online platforms involved in the preparation or sale of such documents to the police.
–IANS
jk/vd