The Central Bureau of Investigation has busted a major passport racket in West Bengal & Sikkim and arrested the Senior Superintendent of Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK), Gangtok (Sikkim), along with a private person in an alleged bribery case of Rs. 1.90 Lakh.
Case registered against 24 accused
A case was registered against 24 accused, including Deputy Passport Officer (DPO), Kolkata; Senior Superintendent, PSLK, Gangtok (Sikkim); other public servants; and private persons, among others. It was alleged that public servants from Regional Passport Office (RPO) Kolkata & Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) Gangtok entered into a criminal conspiracy with others, including passport agents and middlemen. Pursuant to this conspiracy, the accused; were issuing passports based on false and forged identity documents submitted by middlemen on behalf of non-resident applicants in India, in exchange for illegal gratification.
The CBI recovered Rs. 1.90 Lakh from the Senior Superintendent, PSLK Gangtok, while accepting the same from a private person (an agent) in Siliguri. Both the accused were apprehended.
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During the search, an amount of Rs. 3.08 Lakh (approx.) was also recovered from the possession of the said public servant.
As part of the crackdown on the racket, searches were conducted at around 50 places, including Kolkata, Gangtok, Siliguri, Darjeeling, Alipur Dwar, etc., at the premises of the accused, including public servants and others. This led to the recovery of a large number of incriminating documents related to identity proofs and the issuance of forged passports.
The arrested accused will be produced before the Competent Court.
