AMN/ WEB DESK
The Central Bureau of Investigation has busted a major passport racket in West Bengal & Sikkim and arrested a Senior Superintendent of Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) in Gangtok & a private person in an alleged bribery of 1.9 Lakh rupees.
In an official release on Saturday, CBI saida case was registered against 24 accused including Deputy Passport Officer (DPO), Kolkata; Senior Superintendent, PSLK, Gangtok, other public servants and private persons. It was alleged that public servants of Regional Passport Office (RPO) Kolkata & Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) Gangtok entered criminal conspiracy with others including passport agents and middlemen. In pursuance of the said conspiracy, the accused, in lieu of illegal gratification, were issuing passports on the basis of false & forged identity documents submitted by middlemen on behalf of those applicants who are non-residents of India.
CBI recovered 1.90 Lakh rupees from Senior Superintendent, PSLK Gangtok while accepting the same from a Private Person at Siliguri. Both the accused were apprehended.
During search, an amount of approximately 3 lakh rupees was also recovered from the possession of said public servant.
As part of the crackdown on the racket, searches were conducted at around 50 places including at Kolkata, Gangtok, Siliguri, Darjeeling, Alipur Dwar, at the premises of accused persons, including public servants & others. This has led to recovery of large number of incriminating documents related to identity proofs and issuance of forged passports. The arrested accused will be produced before the Competent Court.