6 nabbed in Kashmir for faking army documents

: Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested six persons, suspected to be aides of militants, for forging military documents to get mobile SIM cards in north Kashmir’s Baramulla.

Police suspect that hundreds of such SIMs may have already reached militant or criminal elements.

“It can be a large number of people including militants who might be using such SIMs. The investigation is in its preliminary stage and we have yet to reach the end users,” said Baramulla senior superintendent of police Imtiyaz Hussain.

The fake racket was busted by security forces on 1 January after specific information was provides by Military Intelligence .

On subsequent investigation, it was found that these overground workers (OGWs) of militants were using fake stamps and forged documents of various Army units based in north Kashmir to obtain SIM cards, a police statement revealed.

Of the six accused, a couple are proprietors of two printing presses based in Baramulla.

Police officials said that their modus operandi was simply to write an authentication letter on fake letterheads of some military officials along with a fake stamp.

“Telecom companies normally don’t enquire further when the authentication comes from army and they immediately provide the SIM card,” Hussain said.

The officer said that they have recovered around 20 fake stamps of different army units and fake documents in favour of some 40 names. “All those names are fictitious. They have no address or identity,” Hussain said.