CBI probe terror angle in busted passport racket in Bengal, Sikkim
The CBI has so far conducted raids at around 50 locations including in Kolkata, Gangtok, Siliguri, Darjeeling and Alipurduar
Kolkata:The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is interrogating suspects connected to the passport racket busted in West Bengal and Sikkim over the weekend to find out if terror outfits used the illegal operation to smuggle people into or out of India, officials of the federal agency said.
People running the racket provided fake Aadhar and PAN cards as proof of Indian citizenship to those looking for genuine passports. The suspects used to charge hefty money for their services, the CBI has found.
The crackdown is being monitored by senior CBI officials in Delhi.
A case has been registered against 24 suspects including a deputy passport officer (DPO) in Kolkata, a senior superintendent of the Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) in Gangtok and several other government officials and citizens, the CBI said in a statement after the crackdown began on October 14.
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Gautam Kumar Saha, the senior superintendent at PSLK in Gangtok and Dipu Chhetri, an agent, were among the first to be arrested. Four more persons were interrogated on Monday, officials said.
“In addition to the ₹1.90 lakh which Saha was accepting when he was caught red handed on October 14, a sum of ₹3.08 lakh was also found from his possession. Documents recovered during the raids showed that Indian passports were issued to a number of citizens from Nepal as well,” a CBI official who asked not to be named said.
Since Nepal was earlier used as hideout and transit point by both terrorists and gangsters, the federal agency is investigating if any outfit made use of the passport racket to get fake documents to slip into the neighbouring country.
The CBI has so far conducted raids at around 50 locations including in Kolkata, Gangtok, Siliguri, Darjeeling and Alipurduar.