BHOPAL: A major racket facilitating illegal Afghan nationals in acquiring Indian passports has been busted in Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested three individuals, including the alleged kingpin, an Afghan national identified as Sohbat Khan, who had been living illegally in Jabalpur for the past decade.
Khan, who had married a local woman during his stay and managed to obtain an Indian passport in 2020 using forged documents, was reportedly helping other Afghan youths residing illegally in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh to obtain Indian passports using fake address proofs linked to Jabalpur.
The two local aides arrested alongside Khan have been identified as Dinesh Garg (40), a resident of Jabalpur’s Vijay Nagar area and a forest guard posted at the election cell in the Jabalpur district collector’s office, and Mahendra Kumar Sukhdan (45).
According to the ongoing probe by Madhya Pradesh Police’s ATS, Khan not only secured his own Indian passport fraudulently but also facilitated the same for at least 20 other Afghan youths. Two such individuals, Akbar and Iqbal, both living illegally in West Bengal, have already managed to obtain Indian passports using fake Jabalpur address proofs.
Investigations have revealed that original Aadhar cards bearing West Bengal addresses were altered to reflect addresses from Jabalpur. Khan and his aides reportedly paid local youths in Jabalpur to help create forged documents, assist in police verifications, and facilitate the issuance of passports through local post offices.
Monetary transactions totalling approximately Rs 10 lakh have been traced so far in connection with the racket. ATS officials are currently interrogating Khan to uncover the wider network, especially individuals involved in forging documents and facilitating official clearances.
Khan’s illegal stay dates back to 2015, when he first obtained a driving licence from Jabalpur, which later helped him secure an Indian passport five years later. The investigation is ongoing, with further arrests and revelations anticipated.