TVM man held for creating 150 fake BPL ration cards

Thiruvananthapuram: Exposing a major fraud, the Vanchiyoor police on Friday arrested a ration shop licensee in Thiruvananthapuram for creating around 150 fake priority (pink) ration cards by hacking into the IT network of the Civil Supplies Department. Although the malpractice had been occurring since June, the authorities only detected it about 90 days ago.

According to the police, the arrested person, Sahad Khan (32), held the licence for PDS outlet No. 234 at Beemapally. He allegedly collected money from people with non-priority ration cards — white and blue — to change them to the priority category. When the beneficiaries submitted online applications to the Civil Supplies Department, the accused gained unauthorised access to the department’s website by illegally obtaining the system password and database details. Later, he approved the applications, the police said.

“More people are involved in the case. All of them, including the main accused, will be arrested soon,” a police officer said. The police suspect that either an officer of the Civil Supplies Department or an IT professional with knowledge of the system password may be involved in the scam.

The fraud came to light in September after Civil Supplies Department officials noticed discrepancies in processing the applications for category changes. A subsequent investigation led by HS Shanis, Station House Officer of Vanchiyoor, resulted in the arrest of the ration shop owner.

The illegal cards were later recovered during searches at the ration shop and the accused’s house. The Civil Supplies Department has cancelled all the fake cards, and also suspended Sahad’s license.

The accused has been remanded in judicial custody.