Bengal fake passport racket case: ED collects information from Kolkata Police

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now started showing interest in the ongoing investigation by West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police against the rackets operating from the state and engaged in arranging fake Indian identity documents, including passports for the illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Sources aware of the development said that ED had collected the details on the progress of the probe by the state and city police forces, including the arrests made by the sleuths so far in the matter.

Although ED officials here are tight-lipped on the exact reason for their interest in the case, sources said that in all possibility the Central agency officials have identified a money-laundering angle in the entire scam, especially the financial dealing made while arranging fake Indian documents for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

However, sources added, the ED officials are just at the stage of collecting the necessary information on the matter and the Central agency is yet to file an enforcement case information report (ECIR) on the matter.

The sleuths of West Bengal and Kolkata Police forces have already arrested nine persons in connection with the fake passport rackets operating from the state and engaged in arranging fake Indian identity documents for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

The last arrest made in this connection was Abdul Hai, a retired sub-inspector of Kolkata Police, who during the last few years of his service life was mainly engaged in the task of police verification for new passport applicants.

The investigating officials have identified a pattern in the operations of such rackets engaged in arranging fake Indian passports for the illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Any infiltrator illegally crossing over to the Indian territory, contacting the local agents and showing willingness to pay out hefty amounts for getting fake Indian identity documents are first provided with safe shelters at the different villages adjacent to the borders with Bangladesh in the state, both land and coastal. Thereafter, the agents arrange for fake ration cards for them, which is the first step to making other identity documents. With these fake ration cards, other identification documents like EPIC, PAN, and Aadhaar cards are acquired. The last step is getting the fake passports on the basis of these other fake identity documents.