Notary, municipal staff among 13 accused in fake document scam unearthed by Rachakonda police

Rachakonda Police bust fake document racket in Saroor Nagar, arresting key figures and seizing numerous forged documents.

The Rachakonda Police have busted a fake document racket operating out of Saroor Nagar, arresting six individuals and identifying seven others, who are at large.

The racket involved the preparation and sale of forged sale deeds, birth and caste certificates, income documents, and the use of back-dated stamp papers and counterfeit seals, Commissioner of Rachakonda Police G. Sudheer Babu said.

Among those arrested is 55-year-old notary Thota Venkata Bhanu Prakash, owner of Saathwik Enterprises located opposite the Saroor Nagar Municipal Office. He is believed to be the key figure behind the operation. His 38-year-old wife Thota Sagarika, a typist and DTP operator, was also arrested. She assisted in designing and preparing forged documents using desktop software and printers, according to the police.

Two others, 64-year-old Addaguduru Chandrashekar and his 35-year-old son Addaguduru Anil, from Hayath Nagar, were arrested for supplying unused and back-dated non-judicial stamp papers. Chandrashekar’s son is a licensed stamp vendor. The stamp papers they supplied were chemically wiped and reused for fake documentation.

A 33-year-old self-employed agent from Amberpet, Md Jaleel, was arrested for arranging fake birth certificates in collusion with others. He allegedly helped clients bypass the requirement for supporting documents such as Aadhaar cards and hospital discharge summaries.

A 44-year-old boutique business owner from Saroor Nagar Jalla Kishore Kumar, was found to have approached Bhanu Prakash to obtain a forged sale deed in order to secure a bank loan against a property.

“The racket is reported to have been active for over a year, during which time nearly 280 fake sale deeds were created and sold at prices ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹20,000 each,” the Commissioner of Police explained. The police seized 571 stamp papers of various denominations, 48 forged birth certificates, 11 income certificates, five caste certificates, two computer systems, and several rubber stamps fabricated to resemble those of legitimate notaries, doctors and advocates, he added.