Imphal, July 25: Manipur police have arrested four members of a gang involved in making fake documents to open bank accounts and selling them to unscrupulous people.

The senior superintendent of police, Imphal West, Akoijam Jhaljit Singh, today told reporters that the gang opened bank accounts in SBI and sold these to people at the rate of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per passbook with ATM card.

The gang created fake Aadhaar cards, driving licences, PAN cards, among others and opened bank accounts in SBI in Imphal and Guwahati using the fake documents. Then they sold the bank passbooks and the ATM cards to criminal elements.

They used correct names and addresses of genuine, unsuspecting people in creating fake Aadhaar cards and other documents and opened bank accounts. They, however, used passport photos of different persons. Police investigation has revealed that names and photographs found in the documents do not match.

"This is to escape arrest if any crime or fraud is committed by holders of the passbooks and ATM cards. If a holder of such an account commits a financial crime, it will be very difficult for us to arrest the criminal," Jhaljit Singh said.

The police seized a large number of fake documents, computer equipment, bank passbooks and ATM cards.

The existence of the gang came to light during an investigation by Imphal city police station following a complaint from a senior official of SBI Imphal branch on Mahatma Gandhi Avenue on July 19 after the bank's security personnel detained a man and a woman who came to the bank with several passbooks and ATM cards.

The police first arrested the couple identified as Yumlembam Chinglen, also known as Mombom Meitei, and Soram Soniya Devi. They are in their late 20s or early 30s and both are from Imphal West. The police seized several fake documents, bank passbooks and ATM cards.

Following the couple's interrogation, the police arrested a computer shop owner identified as Md Fakhruddin, 28, from Thangal Bazar shop in Imphal city.

The police also arrested another computer operator - identified as Pramod Kumar Prasad, 26, who hails from Bihar - along with equipment from a computer shop at Khoyathong of Imphal city. The two computer shops printed the fake documents, the police said.

"We are looking for another person identified as Thoudam Prasanta Singh, 35, from Imphal West. Prasanta is absconding," the police officer said.

He said right now the police do not know how many bank accounts were opened by the gang using fake documents and how many of them were sold.

"We will know more details as the interrogation progresses. The four are in police custody," Jhaljit Singh said.