Pune: Hadapsar police charged an MTech job aspirant with cheating and forgery after he was caught travelling with a fake AI-made PMPML bus pass on Friday. Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal (PMPML) ticket inspector Sanjay Adhalge (56) lodged the complaint.Police said the accused claimed he had bought a one-day pass through the PMPML app after boarding at Hadapsar bus stand, but the conductor became suspicious about the paper’s feel and quality. “The man was subsequently taken to the PMPML bus stand for further questioning,” Hadapsar police senior inspector Hemant Patil said.Patil said, “He has completed MTech and is well aware of AI. He is looking for a job in the city and wanted to avoid paying fares while travelling. So he created a pass using AI, printed a physical copy of it.”Patil said the man uploaded an old pass image to an AI tool and instructed it to replicate the ink colour, font and signatures of PMPML officials. “We suspect that he may have used fake passes earlier as well,” he said.
