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Busting of fake kachcheri at Hulftsdorp turning out NICs raises many questions
The recent uncovering of a large scale racket where fake birth certificates and National Identity Cards (NICs) were prepared, raise questions over the effectiveness of security measures in place to prevent forgeries of such important documents. Authorities say new security measures and stringent action against offenders are needed in order to eradicate such operations.
The racket was uncovered after officers from the Walana Anti-Corruption Strike Squad raided a fake Government Agent’s (GA) office or ‘kachcheri,’ located just 50 metres from the Hulftsdorp Courts Complex. Police say it had functioned primarily as an office for producing fake birth certificates and NICs for the purpose of obtaining bail from courts.
Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Walana Anti-Corruption Strike Squad, Chief Inspector Duminda Balasuriya told the Sunday Times investigators were still looking for several more suspects connected to what he termed was an extensive and long-running racket.
He said those in custody included a father and his two sons, suspected to have been the masterminds of the racket and another individual who acted as a middleman.
The racket had operated from a two storey building. The ground floor was home to a betting centre operated by the main suspect, while the upper floor had functioned as their house.
According to the OIC, the birth certificates had been produced with the assistance of one of the sons of the main suspect, who worked as an office assistant at the Central Record Room of the Registrar General’s Department. “We are still unclear as to how the suspects managed to produce fake NICs. We suspect some others helped them in that regard,” OIC Balasuriya revealed.
It is still unclear as to how many persons were engaged in the racket and were working at this fake kachcheri.
The OIC said the racketeers had charged as much as Rs.10, 000 to produce fake birth certificates and NICs.
Registrar General E.M. Gunasekara acknowledged that one of the men in custody did indeed work as an office assistant based at the Registrar General’s Department’s Central Record Room (CRR) in Maligawatta. He however, said it was difficult to believe that any part of the racket had been carried out from the CRR itself. “All our facilities, including the CRR have security measures such as CCTV cameras. I don’t think this person could have done anything illegal inside,” he said. Nevertheless, Mr. Gunasekara said his department would initiate an internal probe after the police give their report.
Depending on the contents of the police report, the employee in question will be interdicted and an official inquiry initiated soon after, he said.
Fake kachcheris that produce bogus documents such as birth certificates and NICs are not new. Police have been raiding such locations periodically in the past.
Mr. Gunasekara admitted it was fairly easy for those with the necessary know-how to produce fake birth certificates. He pointed to those producing forged currency notes and said it was difficult to completely eradicate such activities. “We hear of incidents of this nature from time to time. It may not be widespread, but it can be done by those who have practical knowledge in this field.”
Mr. Gunasekara said the best way to clamp down on such practices was to sternly deal with offenders according to the law. “Only stringent punishments can act as a strong deterrent,” he emphasised.
Department of Registration of Persons Additional Commissioner General Ranjani Jayakody said there have been occasions where people have produced forged documents to obtain an NIC from her department. Producing a fake NIC in its entirety though, was not easy due to the various security features that are present in the card. She however, noted most people are not aware enough to recognise a fake NIC when they see one.
“It is not easy to forge an NIC replicating all the security features. We have several security features even in the current NIC, but these can be missed if people don’t scrutinise one thoroughly,” she explained.
Some of the security features in the current NIC include the green coloured flower pattern that runs across that card and the lion emblem that is embossed throughout the paper that the card is printed on. “These are the obvious security features. It is difficult to replicate these features exactly. However, even poor imitations sometimes tend to go unnoticed because the eyes of most people are not trained enough to spot the fakes.”
Mrs. Jayakody said the new biometric NICs that the department hoped to introduce in the coming months will have far more security features, including the holder’s fingerprints. This system will go a long way towards making it virtually impossible for racketeers to produce fake NICs, she further observed.