By NE NOW NEWS
Aizawl: A major forgery racket has been uncovered at the district jail in south Mizoram's Lunglei district after 17 prisoners convicted in POCSO, NDPS, and theft cases were allegedly released fraudulently using forged court documents and fake release orders, police said in a statement on Saturday.
Two persons, one of them an inmate and the other a part-time jail ambulance driver, have been arrested for allegedly orchestrating the scam, the statement said.
The scandal came to light on April 27 when R. Lalduhawmi, District and Sessions Judge of Lunglei, filed a First Information Report (FIR) at Lunglei police station.
The discrepancy was noticed during a court session on April 24 when two undertrial prisoners (UTPs), Malsawmtluanga and Dokapthanga, appeared before Lalduhawmi.
The duo presented purported release orders from the Lunglei District Court and the Gauhati High Court, claiming they were to be released on a bond of Rs. 50,000.
Suspicion arose when the judge noted that she had presided over their hearing just a day earlier, on April 23, and that their next hearing had already been scheduled for May 8.
Sensing foul play, Lalduhawmi immediately visited the district jail to verify the matter, during which it was discovered that several prisoners had already secured release using forged court orders, the police statement said.
Police launched an immediate investigation and began tracing 15 persons named in the complaint. Of them, 11 were rearrested and sent back to jail by Lunglei Police, while one was arrested by Khawzawl Police.
Another individual was found to have died after being released from the district jail, the statement added.
Further investigation revealed that a total of 17 convicts, including those serving sentences for POCSO violations, drug trafficking under the NDPS Act, and theft, had successfully walked out of prison using forged documents between January 30 and March 18, police said.
Police identified and arrested two main accused in the case, Jeremia Lalthangtura (25), a resident of Zemabawk locality in Aizawl, who himself was an undertrial prisoner at Lunglei district jail, and C. Laltlanhlua (31) of Republic Vengthlang in Aizawl, who was working as a non-regular ambulance driver attached to the jail.
The duo was arrested on May 1 and remanded to judicial custody on May 7.
According to police findings, Jeremia allegedly operated the scam from inside the prison. He is accused of duping prisoners by promising to secure their release or file appeals through a lawyer known to him in exchange for money.
Police said the accused collected between Rs. 4,000 and Rs. 50,000 from each inmate, accumulating an estimated Rs. 1.35 lakh.
The funds were allegedly transferred through Laltlanhlua's GPay account, which Jeremia reportedly operated using a mobile phone from inside the jail with Laltlanhlua's cooperation. The money was later shared between the two accused, police said.
The investigation further revealed that the forged documents were allegedly prepared by Jeremia using computers at a xerox and printing shop in Lunglei's Rahsi Veng locality, as well as an office computer inside the district jail.
Police said Laltlanhlua allegedly secured the office keys and acted as a lookout while Jeremia drafted the fake release orders.
The forged documents were then allegedly handed over to jail authorities by Laltlanhlua. Police said jail officials released the convicts after receiving the forged court orders, believing them to be genuine.
The investigation into the racket is still underway, police added.