Kolkata, May 15 (IANS) The West Bengal Police, investigating a multi-crore fake passport racket, have uncovered documents indicating that several passports were issued to individuals who do not exist at all.
In a recent report submitted to the Calcutta High Court, investigators claimed that at least 37 such passports were found to have been issued to persons who could not be traced at the addresses mentioned in the documents.
During interrogation and field verification, officials could not find any evidence suggesting these individuals ever lived at the listed addresses.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the findings point to serious lapses in the physical verification process, which is mandatory for passport issuance.
As per norms, police verification officers are required to visit the applicant’s address in person for on-ground verification before clearing the application.
Two police personnel tasked with this verification process have already been named as accused in the case. They are Abdul Hai, a retired sub-inspector of Kolkata Police, and Mohammad Imran, a home guard attached to the Chandernagore Police Commissionerate in Hooghly district.
According to insiders in the state police, the discovery of passports issued to non-existent individuals raises serious concerns, especially in light of several cases involving Bangladeshi nationals living in West Bengal with both Indian and Bangladeshi passports.
Investigations have revealed that many of these individuals initially entered India legally on valid visas and subsequently acquired fake Indian identity documents, including passports, through such rackets.
In a related development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently arrested a former Pakistani national, Azad Mullick, from his residence on the northern outskirts of Kolkata. He was allegedly operating a network dealing in fake passports, visas, and hawala transactions. What made his case more complex was that he had first obtained Bangladeshi citizenship using forged documents and then used a similar method to acquire an Indian passport.
–IANS
src/skp
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
