Fake passport racket: Database of arrested POPSK staff gives Kolkata cops clues on recipients

The database recovered from the gadgets of Dipankar Das, the contractual Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) staff arrested by Kolkata Police on Wednesday in connection with a fake passport racket has given investigating officials crucial information on recipients of the forged Indian identity documents.

Sources aware of the developments said that from the database recovered from the gadgets of Das, the investigating officials have procured the names of around 30,000 individuals for whom Das prepared fake Indian identity documents, mainly forged passports.

The investigating officials have already circulated the details of these individuals to their counterparts at the police station level so that their whereabouts can be tracked.

Sources said that recipients of many of these fake Indian identity documents, including forged passports were illegal infiltrators from neighbouring Bangladesh.

The investigating officials suspect that many of them are still residing in different parts of the country including West Bengal by virtue of the possession of those fake documents.

Das, who was involved in the racket by another arrested in the case, S Biswas, was mainly responsible for preparing such fake identity documents, which he used to do from a small office that he was operating from his residence at Behala on the southern outskirts of Kolkata.

Besides fake Indian identity documents, the investigating officials also seized forged documents of two leading public sector banks and visas from a particular European nation.

Since last Sunday a total of five people have been arrested from different pockets of West Bengal in connection with the fake passport rackets.

Two of the five arrested are contractual POPSK staff, one being Das and the other being Deepak Mondal.

Investigating officials suspect that besides contractual staff some permanent employees of the Indian Postal Department might also have connections with such rackets operating mainly from villages adjacent to the state’s international borders with Bangladesh, both land and coastal.