Fake passport racket busted, 17 arrested

Six passport officials were among 17 persons arrested today in connection with a bogus passports scam here, police said.
The passports made by this gang, which also included 10 passport touts, were absolutely authentic as they were processed by insiders in the passport office. But the details contained in them were all false, police said.
Although the passports made by this gang would reach their clients without any police verification, the documents nonetheless would be totally authentic, bearing all original signatures, police added.
Police recovered six passports, 13 cellphones, two laptops, 16 fake voter ID cards, 200 passport forms, 50 Kanpur municipality birth certificates and Rs 50,000 cash from the accused.

SSP Yashaswy Yadav said in a news conference today that the racket was busted following a sting operation carried out by his department in which a policeman posed as a client seeking a passport on the basis of false documents.
Police had received information that one could obtain a fake passport from the passport office for a fee ranging between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh.

During their probe, police found that some employees of a private firm appointed to process passport forms, too, were part of the racket along with a member of the passport office.
Police said that one Jayanta Sarkar from the passport office has been arrested in connection with the racket along with five employees of the said private firm, identified as Ashutosh Srivastava, Sagar Saxena, Avi Dixit, Puneet Singh and Sanu Sonkar.

Also arrested were 10 passport touts and another person who used to procure fake birth certificates for the gang.
A probe is now on to ascertain the number of fake passports sold by the gang along with the identities of those who purchased them, police said.