Gujarat ATS Uncovers Forgery Racket Aiding Bangladeshi Nationals with Fake Indian IDs

In a significant operation targeting illegal immigration and document forgery, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has dismantled a network that enabled Bangladeshi nationals to obtain counterfeit Indian identification documents. The suspects behind the racket allegedly forged passports, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and other credentials, while fraudulently using the letterheads of political figures from both the BJP and Congress to lend credibility to the fake paperwork.

Two individuals have been arrested: Rana Sarkar, also known as Mohammad Deedarul Alam, a Bangladeshi national, and Shoaib Mohammad Qureshi, an Indian resident from Rajasthan. The duo were reportedly central to the operation, which was being run from Sarkar’s shop, ‘VIP Mobile and Money Transfer,’ situated beneath his home in Ahmedabad’s Narol locality.

Investigations revealed that Sarkar, originally from Bangladesh’s Kishoreganj district, had illegally entered India in 2012 through Dinhata. He traversed several cities Siliguri, Howrah, Tamil Nadu, Bangalore, and Mumbai before settling in Ahmedabad in 2015. By 2017, he had secured an Indian passport using fraudulent documents and began assisting other Bangladeshi nationals in obtaining similar fake IDs. His partner, Qureshi, had been operating ‘Al Qureshi Enterprises,’ a document service business, since 2015.

During the search of Sarkar’s premises, the ATS recovered a large number of forged documents, including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, voter IDs, Indian passports, and documents linked to the Government of Bangladesh. Investigators also found 13 forged identity records reportedly prepared for Bangladeshi nationals at the request of Robul Islam, a suspected accomplice believed to be hiding in South Korea.

Further raids on Qureshi’s office near Narol Maniyar petrol pump yielded 22 fake certificates and over 300 forged documents, such as birth certificates. Digital evidence, including files from computers and laptops, was also seized. The ATS confirmed that the network had already arranged Indian passports for 17 Bangladeshi nationals, with nine more applications in progress.

Officials stated that letterheads belonging to prominent political leaders were misused to authenticate the forgeries. These included Congress leader and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) opposition leader Shehzad Khan Pathan, councillor Geeta Solanki, and former councillor Kamaruddin. The ATS found that Pathan’s letterhead was used to forge four documents, Solanki’s for 15, and Kamaruddin’s for two.

The suspects have been charged under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Passport Act, and the Foreigners Act, 1946. Both Sarkar and Qureshi remain in custody, while efforts continue to locate Robul Islam. Authorities have also indicated that political figures whose credentials were misused will be questioned as the probe expands.