2 suspected B'desh nationals flee after securing Indian passports in MP

A major lapse in passport document verification has surfaced in Madhya Pradesh's capital, Bhopal, as two suspected Bangladeshi nationals allegedly secured Indian passports using forged identity documents and have now disappeared.

The incident has raised serious questions over the functioning of the passport authorities and the verification process undertaken by the police, prompting senior officers to initiate a detailed investigation into the matter.

According to the police, the two individuals are real brothers and had been residing in Rajved Colony in Kolar locality in the city on rent. Using the same residential address, they managed to obtain Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards, and later obtained Indian passports by falsely declaring the rented accommodation as their permanent address.

Additional DCP (Zone 4), Malkeet Singh, told ANI, "A complaint was received at Kolar police station regarding two individuals, suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals, and they had obtained Indian passports based on forged documents. Following the preliminary investigation, an FIR has been registered against both of them at Kolar police station under relevant sections related to fabrication of documents and provisions of the Passport Act."

"The two individuals are real brothers. They had taken admission in Bhopal; one was at RGPV (Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya) and the other at another college, where they obtained engineering degrees between 2014 and 2018. They were living in Rajved Colony in Kolar. They obtained Aadhaar cards and voter ID cards using the address of their rented house. Based on these voter ID cards and Aadhaar cards, they obtained passports," the officer said.

He further added that they declared the address of their rented house as their permanent address in the passport application and obtained passports through forged documentation.

A case has been registered in the matter, and efforts are underway to locate them. The police are gathering information about them, and further action will follow accordingly, the officer said.