Kolkata: 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)
