Lawyer, four others held for `arranging' fraudulent surety to secure bail

Sureties are generally asked to provide documents to prove their identity and address.Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap at the Kalyan sessions court in the district and arrested Rafique Abdul Sattar Shaikh 54 who is a lawyer along with Jaipal Jogiri 44, Santosh Mourya 34, Mohammad Habib Mohammad Rafique Hashmi 54 and Chandu alias Chandrakant Khamkar 50.Advocate Shaikh allegedly arranged bogus sureties for accused persons seeking bail, charging up to Rs 6,000, the police official said.

Five persons including a lawyer have been arrested by Thane Police for allegedly providing surety in a fraudulent manner to facilitate bail, an official said on Tuesday.

A surety is a person who takes responsibility that an accused if released on bail, will remain present in the court whenever required. Sureties are generally asked to provide documents to prove their identity and address.

Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap at the Kalyan sessions court in the district and arrested Rafique Abdul Sattar Shaikh (54) who is a lawyer along with Jaipal Jogiri (44), Santosh Mourya (34), Mohammad Habib Mohammad Rafique Hashmi (54) and Chandu alias Chandrakant Khamkar (50).

Advocate Shaikh allegedly arranged bogus sureties for accused persons seeking bail, charging up to Rs 6,000, the police official said. Hashmi's son had been arrested in a murder case and he wanted to arrange sureties for his release, the official said. Jogiri and Maurya who worked for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) allegedly offered themselves as surety. Advocate Shaikh allegedly obtained fake ration cards for them from Khamkar. All five accused were booked under IPC sections 420 (cheating) and 464 (making of a false document in the name of a fictitious person).

Police also seized several bogus ID cards and other fake documents. Further probe is on.