HYDERABAD: In the recently busted fake RT-PCR and Covid-19 vaccine certificates rackets, police have found that it was mostly sought by people going to the Gulf for work, for domestic travel to states where a negative report was a must or for visiting a place of worship.
While cops have arrested those behind the two gangs operating the rackets, they have so far not arrested anyone who bought such fake certificates. Cops have found that 75 people procured negative RT-PCR reports, while 50 got fake vaccination certificates.
After the Task force police arrested P Laxman Naik (30), owner of Home Care Diagnostic Services in Asmangarh, Malakpet, on January 21, he confessed during interrogation to have obtained the negative reports by sending dummy samples to the testing lab.
Laxman had been running the negative RT-PCR certificate racket for the past month and was charging Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000, cops said.
“Due to Omicron variant surge, suddenly new travel guidelines came into place. Some people who had booked their domestic travel months ahead needed negative RT-PCR certificates as they couldn’t risk a real test. So, flyers going to states seeking RT-PCR negative reports, some travelling abroad and a few who booked pilgrimage trips utilised the services of Laxman,” said a Task Force official.
Police have identified a few who obtained services of Laxman to make a trip to a place of worship in Jammu. One of them whom police contacted two days ago is in Jammu. While another from Nampally has not gone to Jammu and police are now trying to locate him.
The main accused in the second gang, Md Tariq Habeeb (28), runs Image Diagnostic Centre in Asif Nagar, and was producing fake vaccination certificates in collusion with Kumari, a computer operator at a UPHC in Afzalsagar. Using her access to Co-Win portal, Kumari generated fake certificates for clients referred by travel agency owners Gulam Musthafa Shakeel and Abdul Basheer of Asif Nagar.
Habeeb also used to provide negative RT-PCR certificates by sending dummy samples to lab for same clients. “Along with Habeeb and the two travel agency operators, Kumari has also been arrested,” Task Force inspector S Raghavendra said. “The travel agency was using Habib to help clients going to the Gulf for work. We are trying to locate those who paid for them,” Humayun Nagar inspector K Narayan Reddy said.
