ITANAGAR, 21 Aug: In a significant breakthrough, Banderdewa police, in collaboration with Assam police, busted a fake eILP (Electronic Inner Line Permit) racket and apprehended three individuals involved in the illegal issuance of fake eILPs to unauthorized entrants into Arunachal Pradesh.
Acting on a complaint lodged through the Banderdewa circle officer regarding the operation of a fake ILP racket, Banderdewa police conducted a thorough inquiry into the alleged racket.
During the course of enquiry, the CO submitted a suspicious eILP issued in the names of Mulcha Munda and Uttam Munda from North Lakhimpur, Assam, purportedly issued by the Deputy Resident Commissioner (DRC), Tezpur.
Upon further verification, the Tezpur DRC confirmed that no such eILP had been approved for these individuals. This was subsequently corroborated by the state nodal officer for eILP, IT and communication department of the Arunachal government, who also confirmed that the eILP in question was fraudulent.
After registering a formal case (FIR No. 50/2024 U/S 468/471 IPC) at Banderdewa police station on 10 August, the police traced the alleged fake eILP holders, Mulcha Munda and Uttam Munda. During interrogation, they revealed that they had obtained the fake eILP from a cybercafe in Dejoo, Lakhimpur district in Assam.
On 16 August, a joint operation by Banderdewa police and Assam police led to the arrest of the cybercafe owner, identified as Diluwar Hussain (22) of village No. 2 Urang in Dejoo, Lakhimpur (Assam). Police also seized a computer and other incriminating materials during the raid conducted in his cybercafe.
During interrogation, Hussain admitted to generating fake eILPs for Mulcha Munda and Uttam Munda using free online applications, Naharlagun SP Mihin Gambo informed in a press release on Wednesday.
Further investigation revealed that other cybercafes in the Dejoo area were also involved in issuing fake eILPs and offline ILPs. Acting on this information, Banderdewa police, with the assistance of Assam police, conducted raids in two different locations in Dejoo on 18 August and arrested two more individuals from two shops identified as Ajibur Rehman (24) of village No. 2 Urang Basti in Dejoo, Lakhimpur (Assam) and Sultan Saddik (24) of Saiyabari village in Lakhimpur (Assam). Incriminating documents, including fake offline ILPs, fake eILPs and computers were recovered from their possession.
Further investigation is on.
The police team involved in the operation comprised Naharlagun SDPO Paul Jerang, Banderdewa PS OC Insp Kipa Hamak, SI Koj Tada, head constable S.K Jha, constables Tade Bomdom, Rinchin Tsering, Udipta Gogoi and Bharat Sonam, under the supervision of Naharlagun SP Mihin Gambo.
