Three Held for Creating Fake Voter IDs, Aadhaar, PAN, One of Them with 'Links' to Minister Suresha B S

The Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru on Saturday said it arrested three people for creating fake voter identity cards, Aadhaar cards, driving licence documents, PAN cards and other important documents in their shop using their computer, and one of them may be linked to Minister Suresha B S.

The CCB said Mounesh Kumar, Bhagath and Raghavendra were booked on October 19 and were subsequently arrested for selling these documents at high prices, showing them as original.

Many photographs have surfaced on social media showing the kingpin Mounesh Kumar with Minister Suresha B S, popularly known as Byrathi Suresh, who holds the Urban Development and Town Planning portfolio.

The photographs show Minister Suresha feeding sweets to Mounesh. A greeting posted on social media showed the kingpin wishing the minister on his birthday. The greeting had the photograph of the minister and the accused.

The arrests have come months before the Lok Sabha elections. Reacting to the arrest, Minister Suresha said that every day from morning, more than 400 to 500 people come to meet him and take photographs with him, and wondered aloud what he’d say if everyone calls themselves close to him.

If I had any dealings or anything else with them, then I can call it proximity,” he said, citing the example of a former corporator in Bengaluru who was allegedly involved in extortion.

The accused had photographs alongside the previous BJP Chief Minister and a local MLA. If someone takes a photograph with me and does something wrong, should I be held accountable for it? This is far from the truth, Suresha said.

When he was told that the CCB police had released the photograph of Mounesh with him, Byrathi Suresh said, “I don’t know about it. I don’t have a problem with it. Let anyone put as many photographs as possible. State police is ours (under our government), CCB is ours and the Central police and all of them are also ours. Let them hang those who did wrong. He also expressed his ignorance about the arrest and release of the accused.

When asked whether those arrested were known to him, he said everyone is known to him. The entire seven crore people (of Karnataka) are known to me. There will be many whom I know but if someone does something wrong should I be held accountable for it? Let the investigation happen. Whoever has committed wrong will be punished, Suresha said.