Mumbai: Man held for selling fake travel passes to migrants

Mumbai: A 28-year-old man has been arrested from Mumbai for allegedly selling fake travel passes to migrant labourers during the lockdown, police said.

During an investigation, it was found that the accused, Manoj Ramu Humbe, was charging Rs 5,000 for the fake passes, a police official said on Wednesday.

The police got to know about the fraud after they came across a mobile number of the accused, through which he claimed to be arranging e-passes for migrant workers who wanted to travel from Mumbai to their native states.

Later, the Dongri police in Mumbai conducted a probe and nabbed the accused from suburban Chembur on Tuesday, the official said.

"When questioned, the accused said he took help of his friends in the fraud. Some of his friends had obtained passes from police in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and the Mumbai and Palghar district administrations. They used to change the name and QR code on the pass and sell it for Rs 5,000," an official from Dongri police station said.

The accused has been booked under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, he added.

PTI