Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 14 : Six persons have been arrested in connection with a forgery case linked to the government wedding assistance scheme 'Shaadi Mubarak', for allegedly preparing fake documents to fraudulently claim benefits under the scheme, police officials said.
According to officials, information was received on June 12 at around 4:00 pm regarding Mohammed Etemaad and his associates, Mohammed Akbar, Musharaf, Sarfaraz, and Jaffer, who were allegedly preparing forged documents related to the scheme at Fatima Colony, Hassan Nagar, and submitting them at the Bandlaguda Tahsildar Office.
The group was allegedly acting with the intent to fraudulently obtain government benefits by ensuring the sanctioned amounts were credited into specified bank accounts.
Acting on the tip-off, the matter was brought to the notice of the ACP, Rajendranagar Division, following which an authorisation memo was obtained. Independent panch witnesses, Sheikh Imran and Mohammed Naseer, were also secured and briefed about the purpose of the raid.
Given the urgency of the situation and the possibility of the suspects absconding or destroying evidence, officials proceeded with an immediate search in accordance with the law, without obtaining a court warrant.
A search was subsequently conducted at the residence of Mohammed Etemaad by Sub-Inspector T Jayaraj along with other police personnel and panch witnesses. During the search, laptops, CPUs, mobile phones, and documents suspected of having been used in preparing forged applications under the Shaadi Mubarak Scheme were seized.
Investigators found that Mohammed Etemaad allegedly used Paint and Adobe Photoshop software to manipulate photographs, Aadhaar details, marriage certificates, and other documents to create forged records.
It was further alleged that Mohammed Akbar collected fake applications and facilitated their submission through Ashok Kiran, Special Revenue Inspector (Special RI) at the Bandlaguda Tahsildar Office, bypassing mandatory field verification.
Other accused persons, Musharaf, Sarfaraz, and Jaffer, were allegedly involved in identifying fake beneficiaries and arranging fabricated documents such as bank account details, electricity bills, and marriage photographs, while also sharing the proceeds of the fraud.
The accused are suspected of having fraudulently obtained approximately Rs 21 lakh under the Shaadi Mubarak Scheme through forged documentation and cheating the government.
All seized material, including electronic devices and documents, was taken into custody under a confession-cum-seizure panchanama, police said. The accused were subsequently taken to the police station for further legal proceedings.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Attapur Police Station in Hyderabad, and all six individuals have been arrested and produced before the court.
The arrested persons have been identified as Md. Etemaad Ul Haq (25), Mohd. Akbar (20), Syed Musharaf Uddin (23), Mohammed Sarfaraz (26), Mohammed Jaffer (23), and Dharavath Ashok Kiran (32).
Officials also cautioned the public against paying money for government welfare scheme benefits and urged citizens to immediately report any such fraudulent demands to the nearest police station.