MUMBAI: The Marine Drive Police arrested five persons, including Mantralaya officials, for allegedly preparing fake entry passes to Vidhan Bhavan during budget session based on forged letters issued by industries department.The accused included clerks and peons who allegedly conspired to create a forged letter in the name of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and issued around 30 fake session passes for financial gain. For this, requisitions were submitted by various govt offices to the G-1 (General Branch) Room of the Maharashtra Legislative Secretariat for the entry of officers and employees coming to the Vidhan BhavanA major security lapse surfaced at Vidhan Bhavan after Industries minister Uday Samant raised the issue that fake entry passes were generated using forged documents and sold for merely Rs 2,000 to 5,000. Following this an inquiry was ordered and during the inquiry it transpired that some personnel associated with the state legislature were preparing such fake letterheads for various departments. The Marine Drive police arrested five persons identified as private individual Dattatraya Keshav Gunjal (53), peons Ganpat Bhau Jawale (50) and Nagesh Shivaji Patil (42), and clerks Manoj Ananda Morbale (40) and Swapnil Ramesh Tayde (40). Two other Mantralay employees , Mahesh Dumpalwar and Lavesh Shankar Nakate are on the run. Police said Gunjal wrote on the pass his name, designation as advisor to chief Minister’s office with his photo and Mantralay stamp on it. Police said this was possible only with the involvement of officials from Mantralaya. Police said a constable attached to Local Arms was questioned in his connection.“We have just arrested them and are interrogating them to know the motive. The matter is serious as it concerns security at a sensitive government establishment,” an officer said. All five accused were arrested late on March 25 and their mobile phones were seized for forensic examination. Police have formed special teams to trace the accused and identify recipients of the fake passes
