Maharashtra ATS busts major passport scam with Bangladesh link

Mumbai, Nov 16: A serious concern that is haunting the Maharashtra police is the number of fake passports and identification cards that have been obtained by Bangladeshi infiltrators.

A fresh list of 40 persons has been prepared by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad which mentions the names of these persons who have managed to obtained fake passports after infiltrating into India.

Investigations by the police and the ATS has found that all these persons had sought the help of an advocate in Mumbai to obtain fake documents. Further the trail also led up to Jharkhand where the passports had been issued, investigations have also found.

The advocate according to the probe helped these infiltrators get fake documents such as a ration card and also Aadhar cards which were later on used to obtain the passports.

Verification drive caught the bluff:

Following the arrest of a Bangladeshi national in Pusad, Maharashtra, the police decided to launch a passport verification drive. During this drive it came to light that several Bangladeshi infitrators had managed to obtain passports.

The advocate who acted as the agent is said to have charged these persons Rs 5,000 for preparing fake documents. The ATS has found that this is a racket which has several more persons involved. With the help of these agents, they first got fake documents.

Later on, they applied through the online service of the passport Kendra. Later on they submitted their identification and address details with the help of the fake aadhar or ration card which was also used during the police verification process.

Many being questioned:

The scam first came to light last month The matter came to light after two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested from Pusad in Maharashtra after they had illegally entered the country.

A lawyer from Mumbai came under scanner for helping Bangladeshis create fake passports and identification documents.

Although it is still unclear why the two men Habil Shaikh and Majeed Ghazi had entered India, the police said that they are in the process of busting a major racket involving creation of fake documents which facilitates the entry of illegal immigrants.

On questioning, they revealed the names of several persons including the advocate who helped them prepare the fake documents.

Ironically, these persons managed to enter India through the Bangladesh border and travelled to Pusad by road using the same documents. It was only once they landed in Pusad that they were caught after their documents were verified.

The police found that apart from a passport, these two persons had a ration card, domicile certificate and also a voter identification card with them.

An ATS official tells OneIndia that they have managed to bust a major scam. However, now it is to be ascertained why these persons were obtaining passports in India. The motive of these persons is under investigation, the officer also added.

OneIndia News