Besides, fake rubber stamps (61) of schools and municipal/local bodies of Namakkal, Dindigul, Madurai, Usilampatti, Peraiyur, Ramanathapuram, Thirumangalam and Virudhunagar, fake blank school transfer certificates, birth and death registration forms, marksheets and conduct certificates were also recovered from Ramar, 50, of Peraiyur, Madurai, the kingpin of the racket.
The others were identified as Muthuvel ,45, of Kappalur, Salamatullah Naynar, 43, Sudalaikannan ,34, Sivaraja ,38, and Karthigaipandian ,27, all from Thirumangalam, Madurai.
Ramar revealed during interrogation that he used to sell the certificates in Melur, Madurai and Chennai for prices ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000. They were used for various purposes by the “beneficiaries” like procuring driving licences, insurance policies and securing jobs. The police said they are on the hunt for more suspects believed to have gone underground.
The police added that they are preparing a list of the “beneficiaries” for action. They said it’s too early to say if the tentacles of the gang had spread to other parts of Tamil Nadu.