Man held for issuing fake essential service IDs

Police said that the accused was out of business due to the pandemic, which drove him to such lengths

MUMBAI: The Cyber Police has arrested a 35-year-old man for allegedly providing fake essential service identity cards to people to help them travel in local trains and buses amidst the strict restrictions enforced by the state government due to the coronavirus pandemic. The accused, identified as Shiv Azad Mishra, has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.

Af ter the government had resumed the train and bus services for essential services and only to those who could produce a valid identity card, Mishra, a Badlapur resident, allegedly began giving out fake essential services cards. Police said that Mishra, who claims to be a naturopath, was out of business due to the pandemic, which drove him to such lengths of cheating.

Amidst the increased cyber crime and cheating mechanisms on the social media, police had formed a surveillance team, which came across a post uploaded by Mishra, which read, "Anyone need ID for train pass, call the following number," which raised an alarm of numerous innocent citizens being duped. Based on this information, police laid a trap and arrested Mishra from Kurla railway station.