Student arrested for running fake passport racket in UP

Mathura, Dec 7: A student of a private college here has been arrested for allegedly running a fake passport racket, police said today.

The accused, identified as Vikas Anand, and a native of Bihar was held from a private lodge on Chatta Goverdhan Road late last night.

After being nabbed, he allegedly has "confessed" to have sent over 12 youth for employment to Dubai, Oman and Abu Dhabi.

"Before running the racket,he stayed in Dubai for over 8 months", police said. "159 fake passports, seal of a few companies and some other papers have been recovered from the possession of the youth, who had been running the racket for over a year, Deputy SP Piyush Kumar said.

Anand, a native of Gopalganj district, had been running the racket from a fake employment office in Chhatta town, he further said.

So far no link with any terrorist organisation has been found, Kumar said. In order to dodge the fellow hostellers, Anand did not stay in his college room during college hours. But after few months he started visiting his room during college hours too, he said.

This created a suspicion among fellow hostellers and they started keeping a watch on him, Kumar further said.

A complaint was lodged when hostellers informed the hostel owner about Anand's activities and he informed the police, police said. Anand has been booked under sections 420, 467, 468, 469, 471 of the IPC and section 12 of the Passport Act, they said.

PTI