PEDDAPALLI: There is a solution to every problem, regardless of how serious it might be. Those who had been deported from Kuwait back to India for illegal stay are now managing to land again in the city-state. The secret is they now have a different set of fingerprints.
Rachakonda police have busted a gang that is involved in changing the complicated circles on fingers with surgery and are sending them back to Kuwait where they can start their lives afresh.
Malkajgiri Special Operations Team (SOT) and Ghatkesar police arrested four persons, two of whom came down to the city to perform the tricky surgery for the people who wanted a new identity. The police also arrested two persons whose lines on their fingers had been changed with surgery.
Rachakonda Commissioner of Police (CP) Mahesh Bhagwat said, “Two persons — radiologist Naga Muneswar Reddy and anaesthetist Venkata Raman — who hail from Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh performed surgery on a person who was deported back to India for illegal stay in Kuwait. After his fingerprints were altered, he went back to Kuwait without any problem. As their plan worked, the two persons cooked up a plan to make good money by performing these surgeries on those who intend to go to Kuwait. After reaching there, they would get a new ID and they would not have any problem getting a job and settling down comfortably.”
The two accused purchased the required equipment and contacted a person in Kuwait to refer people wanting fingerprint alteration to them. They then got a contact in Rajasthan and the duo performed the surgery on him. Subsequently, six persons in Kerala and three persons in Kadapa also underwent the surgery.
“Acting on a tip-off that the duo was camping in a hotel in Annojigua in Hyderabad, Malkajgiri SOT and Gatkesar police, picked them up. The police then came to know about the history of their surgeries,” Bhagwat said.
The CP mentioned that the duo would cut the upper layer of the fingertip, remove some part of the tissue and re-stitch it. “In a month or two, the wound gets healed and there will be a slight change in fingerprint pattern,” he added.
“After the alteration of fingerprints, the clients would update their fingerprints at the Aadhaar centres by changing their addresses. Then they would apply for a visa to go to Kuwait. Once they get the visa, they fly to Kuwait. These new fingerprints last for one year in the same condition,” Bhagwat explained.
Letters would be sent to Kuwait authorities to deport the ones who have undergone the surgery.
Charged Rs 25,000 for surgery
CP Bhagwat revealed that the accused — radiologist Naga Muneswar Reddy and anaesthetist Venkata Raman — used to charge Rs 25,000 for the procedure. Within a maximum of three months, the ‘clients’ moved back to Kuwait with their new fingerprints, which can last over a year