Amid rising tensions in Bangladesh, a major passport fraud investigation has been launched after it was found that 73 Indian passports were allegedly issued to Bangladeshi nationals using “fake documents” in Kolkata, police said on Wednesday.
The regional passport authority reportedly issued 73 of these passports, while 48 other passports were allegedly withheld after “applicants” had completed the application process.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) from Kolkata police headquarters Lalbazar arrested four accused, including Samaresh Biswas and his son Ripan Biswas, believed to be the main conspirators.
Deepak Mandal and Tarakanath Sen, two temporary employees of the post office, have also been arrested for their involvement in fraud.
Meanwhile, according to a police officer, an investigation is also underway whether the police verification of these 121 passports has been completed.
According to the police, the accused allegedly created fake voter and Aadhaar cards for uploading during the application process, mostly in North 21 Parganas district. At first glance, the police said, some employees of the passport service centers of two post offices at Amata in Howrah and Basirhat in North 24 Parganas allegedly uploaded the documents without verification.
Police suspect that the alleged fake passport holders may have “infiltrated” India from Bangladesh and then left the country using these fake passports. Police are actively contacting authorities in France and Italy to investigate potential travel destinations and cancel passports.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been informed about this and efforts are being made to cancel the blocked 48 passports. According to sources, passports are made and issued for 2 to 5 lakh rupees.
Investigators are also looking into the alleged role of passport service centers along with several post offices in the incident. Meanwhile, Sen, who was arrested on Monday, and Ripon, who was arrested earlier, were produced in the Alipore court on Tuesday. Both have been kept in police custody till January 24.
Police said they are questioning Samaresh and are looking for “several” other people involved in the alleged scam. They got the information that Samaresh was earlier arrested in Barasat, Chunchura and Delhi in case of passport theft.
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