Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate conducted raids Monday at an online passport application centre opposite the Passport Seva Kendra in Kolkata as part of its ongoing investigation into a fake passport racket with alleged connections to a Pakistani national.
According to ED sources, the officers of the central investigation agency have collected some information after visiting the passport office. Sources said, such online application centres outside the passport office might have played a role in the corruption of creating fake passports.
Earlier in the day, the ED raided the house of a carpenter in Chakdaha in Nadia district. The members of the house were also questioned. According to local sources, the carpenter’s name is Biplab Sarkar, a resident of Padari village in Chakdaha. The investigation team visited the house of Biplab and his brother.
Later, two brothers and one more person were arrested. The names of the arrested are Biplab, Binanda Sarkar and Bipul Sarkar. According to ED sources, one person from Nadia has been brought to the ED office in Kolkata for investigation purpose.
After reaching Chakdaha earlier this morning, the ED team went straight to the house of Biplab Sarkar. The search began as soon as they entered his modest clay house. The ED is investigating how fake passports are being made. They are investigating where they and their family members went using fake passports.
It is learned that about 350 fake passport applications were made from Indu Bhushan’s, who was arrested last month, cyber cafe in Chakdaha. Based on that information, the ED raided Sarkar’s house Monday. Although he works as a carpenter, investigators are probing whether he has any Bangladeshi connections. The reason is that Indu Bhushan also used to make fake photo identity cards in several cases.
The investigators are checking the travel history and all his bank transactions in Biplab Sarkar. The officials are checking the documents and passports of his brother Bipul Sarkar and their family members. Their travel history is also being checked. They are also checking where he got the passport from. The mobile is also being checked.
Sources said, Biplab Sarkar’s name surfaced during the interrogation of Indu Bhushan Halder, a middleman arrested last month for helping foreigners getting Indian Identity documents (passport ) in lieu of money.
It may be noted that Pakistani citizen Azad Mallick was arrested in the fake passport case earlier this year.
At that time, the ED conducted searches in a large part of the India Bangladesh border area or North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. Today’s search is also based on the same sources.
The investigation in the fake Indian passport racket operating from West Bengal was initially started by the West Bengal Police at the end of last year and also made several arrests in this connection.
Later, the ED also took over the investigation, considering the money laundering angle involved in the case.
In April, the ED officials made a major breakthrough in the case by nabbing Azad Mullick in the matter.
Investigation by ED officials revealed that, besides running the hawala and fake Indian passport rackets, Mullick was involved in arranging fake visas of foreign countries for people willing to visit those countries.
The state police had already filed a chargesheet in the matter, naming 130 individuals as accused in the case; 120 of whom were illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.
The police have also issued a lookout notice against them.
