05 March,2016 08:56 AM IST | | A Correspondent
The gang had sold stamp papers as old as 57 years
A gang of nine people including three lawyers was arrested on Thursday for selling fake stamp papers and selling old stamp papers at exorbitant rates by changing the dates. The Mumbai Crime Branch also seized fake stamp papers worth Rs 7 lakh from the accused and found that they have sold papers as old as 57 years.
The lawyers among the arrested have been identified as Haridas Parajapati, Vivek Pandey and Ravindrakumar Tiwari.
Police said the accused used to obtain original stamp papers from the treasury in bulk and then sell them in black. They sold old stamp papers with new dates, fake stamp papers and also forge notary stamps. The crime branch officials believe that this has been going on for years and thousands of fake stamp papers are being circulated in the market.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Atulchandra Kulkarni said, "We launched a probe in the case after a victim informed us about the bogus stamp papers. We kept a watch on 15 suspects associated with the racket for five months. We made the first arrest on Thursday and held the rest at Andheri, Bandra and Esplanade courts the same day. Some places outside the city were also raided."
Police have booked the accused under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code for forgery and cheating. They were presented in a local court yesterday and remanded in police custody till March 10. More arrests in the case are likely.
