PRAYAGRAJ, June 19 -- The Special Task Force (STF) busted a gang involved in creating fake Ayushman Bharat health cards using forged documents. Acting on a tip-off, the STF arrested the gang's kingpin, Amit Pandey, a resident of Serana Pandey Ka Purwa under the Nawabganj police station area, along with his associate Brijbhuvan Patel, a resident of Pasiapur under the Soraon police station area. The arrests were made late Tuesday night near the Nawabganj bypass bridge. During the operation, the STF recovered two mobile phones, 84 fake Ayushman cards, data for 112 more fake cards, WhatsApp chat screenshots related to 284 cards, an ATM card, a PAN card, an Aadhaar card, and Rs 9,690 in cash from the duo's possession. According to the STF, Amit Pandey began creating Ayushman cards legally after obtaining a Jan Seva Kendra license in 2020-21. However, after his CSC ID was deactivated in 2022, he turned to fraudulent methods. In 2024, he connected with Sunil Mandal, a Patna resident, through a Facebook group. Sunil reportedly offered to make Ayushman cards for ineligible individuals for Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,000. Amit, in collaboration with others including Brijbhuvan Patel and contacts from hospitals linked to the Ayushman scheme, began charging Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per card. Amit collected payments via UPI from clients across various districts in Uttar Pradesh and used forged documents to create the cards. During interrogation, Amit confessed that he would send Aadhaar numbers, family IDs, and district information of ineligible persons to Sunil Mandal via WhatsApp. Sunil would then add these individuals to someone else's family database to generate a fake Ayushman card. The first OTP required for card creation was received on the mobile number linked to the Aadhaar card and sent to Sunil by Amit. The second OTP, which goes to the family head's mobile number, was also somehow obtained by Sunil-though Amit claimed he was unaware of how. Sunil Mandal typically delivered the fake cards within one to two days. So far, over 200 fraudulent Ayushman cards have reportedly been created through this network. The STF has registered a case at the Nawabganj police station and handed over the arrested accused. HTC...