KOCHI: Kerala Police, which nabbed four Bangladeshi residents from Kochi airport while attempting to fly out of India using Indian passports, found that forged birth certificates and school leaving certificates were used by the accused to obtain Indian passports from different passport offices in the country. Police said a well-organised racket in the country was helping the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants to obtain Indian passports using forged documents.
Police have submitted a detailed report to the Union Home Ministry about the racket that provides fake identification documents to illegal Bangladeshi residents. Police said the probe conducted into the activities of one of the accused in the case identified as Mohammed Abdur Shukkur, 38, of Rustarmatha Village, Chittagong, Bangladesh, revealed that he was the main agent who used to operate from Kolkata to arrange passports for the Bangladeshis who sneak into the country.
“Mohammed himself impersonated a Kolkata native Sujoy Biswas and obtained a passport from the passport office in Kolkata. He also helped the other four accused to get Indian passports from different passport offices in the country,” said an officer. In a report submitted before the Sessions Court Ernakulam, police said: “the first four accused, under the guise of Indian citizens forged documents, impersonated and obtained passports from various passport offices in India. Police said the accused were members of a group involved in human trafficking and had links with a pan-Indian network based in Mumbai.
“There are agents in Mumbai who coordinate with local agents in other states to source passports from various passport offices in the country. We will be coordinating with Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad which recently busted a passport agent who allegedly arranged Indian passports to illegal Bangladeshis based on fake documents,” said a senior police officer.