Police in Cyberabad on Tuesday said they have busted a passport racket with the arrest of eight people including four Bangladeshis and two policemen.
The accused were arrested for fraudulently obtaining Indian passports from Nizamabad district of Telangana.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar told a news conference that as many as 72 passports were fraudulently obtained.
The police have sent reports to Regional Passport Officer (RPO) Hyderabad for cancelation of these passports. “We have also requested the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) to issue lookout circulars against the passport holders,” the Commissioner said.
The police are coordinating with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for cancellation of 72 fake Aadhar cards used to obtain passports. District Collectors and Superintendents of various districts of West Bengal are being apprised regarding these 72 persons.
Special teams have been formed to trace the passport holders and three absconding accused.
The police busted the racket during an investigation taken up after three Bangladeshi nationals were arrested on January 24 at Hyderabad airport when they were about to catch a flight to Dubai on fraudulently obtained Indian passports.
They revealed that they stayed at Bodhan in Nizamabad districts and an agent from West Bengal arranged fake Aadhaar cards and helped them obtain Indian passport fraudulently.
During the subsequent investigation, police found that many others fraudulently obtained Indian passports.
A sub-inspector of police and an assistant sub-inspector of police, who did the verification of passport applicants, were also arrested.
The arrested include Nitai Das alias Sanjib Dutta, Mohammed Rana Mia alias Sandip Mondal, Mohammed Hasibur Rehman alias Ramu Das, Parimal Bain alias Shivam alias Shovan, all Bangladeshi nationals, and Shahnaj Pail alias Sabuj, a resident of West Bengal. Mateen Ahmed Mirza, a resident of Nizamabad who created fake Aadhaar cards and policemen Peruka Mallesh Rao and B. Anil Kumar were also arrested.
Sameer, a resident of West Bengal who helps the foreigners to cross illegally into India, Manoj, also of West Bengal and Sadham Hussain, a flight ticket agent from Mumbai are absconding.
