Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked 32 persons, including 14 passport seva kendra (PSK) officials and 18 touts/agents, for issuing fake passports in exchange for bribes.
Cases Registered
Twelve cases have been registered after multiple raids at 33 locations in Mumbai and Nashik. In Mumbai, the raids were conducted at Malad and Lower Parel PSKs.
“Passport officers were in regular contact with passport facilitation agents and conspiring with them to obtain undue advantage in lieu of issuance of passports based on incomplete documents and manipulating the personal particulars of passport applicants,” confirmed a senior CBI official.
About The Surprise Searches Conducted By CBI
The surprise searches were jointly conducted by the CBI and vigilance officers of the Ministry of External Affairs. The mobile phones of suspect officers were also seized. The analysis of seized documents, social media chats and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID activities of suspect officers revealed various suspicious transactions.
“The suspect officers took the bribe amount directly in their own bank accounts or in the bank accounts of family members from the passport facilitation agents to the tune of several lakhs,” added a CBI official.
