Punjab: Police bust gang transporting stranded migrants to UP, Bihar using fake curfew passes

HOSHIARPUR:

Hoshiarpur district police

have busted a gang of nine persons who were using

fake curfew passes

to transport migrant labourers from Punjab to UP and Bihar. They had already transported 71 migrants in lieu of Rs 3.5 lakh.


Hoshiarpur SSP Gaurav Garg said that the accused had already made four rounds starting from April 12 onwards.

"The forged curfew passes, which they have created using computer and the software, were pasted on the windscreen of the vehicles and also additional copies are in the possession of the driver and the associate cleaner and they showed the same every time - if they would be stopped or checked at any picket or checking posts," said SSP.

"The passes they have been using were photoshopped from an original pass belonging to Batala -SDM, who issued the same for movement around first week of April to a taxi driver for travelling to IGI Airport, Delhi. They edited the original image by using coloured photoshopped software and pasted on their vehicles and hence crossed the borders and duped all the intertwining check posts of all the states,” he informed. They would charge Rs 5,000 to 10,000 from each migrant depending upon the destination.

They had used one truck, three

Tempo Travellers

, two Innova vehicles and made trips to Gonda in Bihar, Lucknow and Saharanpur in UP.

"The accused met the taxi driver at a petrol pump at

Shambhu border

while having lunch, and the former showed them his pass, of which they took photographs on the pretext of using it to move around without hassle. However, they soon got the idea of using the photo of the pass to fake passes and make money with them," SSP said.

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