MUMBAI: A 29-year-old Lucknow resident was arrested today for allegedly preparing fake letterheads of politicians and bureaucrats and sending them as 'recommendation' letters to book tickets for prospective passengers under VIP quota, police said.
The accused, identified as Devpratap Singh, allegedly used to sell these fake letters to wait-listed passengers charging them Rs 1200 to Rs 2400 per such document, a Mumbai GRP official said.
Prima facie, Singh allegedly prepared fake letterheads of senior bureaucrats, MPs and MLAs from various states for committing the fraud, he said.
"During his investigation so far, it came to light that he has prepared fake letterheads of senior bureaucrats, MPs, and MLAs of various states, including ACS (Home), Maharashtra, Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh, and Lokayukta, Bihar," the official said.
Explaining modus operandi of Singh, the official said that the accused used to search profiles and online posts of 'VIP' persons for preparing fake letterheads.
Singh had prepared a standard format of the recommendation letters seeking reservations under VIP quota and used to fax them to Central Railway headquarters in Mumbai, the official said.
"Singh used to charge around Rs 1200 to Rs 2400 per letter. He has been doing this since the last two years," DCP (GRP) Samadhan Pawar told PTI. He was remanded in police custody by a local court.
An official said Singh ran out of luck when the railway officials found that a recommendation letter seeking reservation under VIP quota on Mumbai-Varanasi Holiday Special train was not in order.
The officials found that the ticket for which the reservation was sought was found to be booked online from Ghazipur, following which Singh was traced.