Investigators of the passport scam arrested Samir Das, a law clerk at Barasat Court, on Wednesday and unearthed the rate he used to charge Bangladeshi citizens for obtaining fake documents.
A resident of Nabapally in Barasat, locals say that Das operated a grocery shop for years, and no one suspected his involvement in such an illegal racket. However, locals noted a significant rise in Das’s income since 2020, during the COVID-19 period, as his one-storied house expanded into a four-storied building.
According to police sources, Samir Das’s WhatsApp chats are crucial for the investigation as they contain significant evidence. His phone will be sent for forensic analysis.
Police revealed that Das maintained a rate chart for various fake documents, targeting Bangladeshi nationals visiting Kolkata on tourist or medical visas. Das allegedly received orders from contacts across the border to prepare fake documents needed for Indian passports. It is alleged that Das ensured the documents were ready by the time the Bangladeshi nationals arrived in Kolkata.
Sources indicated that the Aadhaar numbers on the fake cards were genuine, but the names and photographs were altered. Alongside Das, Kaushik Mondol and Chandan Chakraborty were also taken into custody. It is alleged that Chandan Chakraborty brought clients to Das, while Kaushik Mondol, who owned an Aadhaar centre in Barasat, created the fake Aadhaar cards and other documents at his office.
Another arrest was made on Friday. Debakar Biswas, who claimed to be a law clerk at Barasat Court, is also in custody. Police are investigating whether other fake clerks are operating within the court system.
Several soft copies of fake Aadhaar cards were found with Das, and officers are scanning them to identify the original applicants. Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Barasat Police raided Das’s residence on Tuesday evening. Investigators are also examining the involvement of Das’s two sons — one a doctor and the other in the police force — to determine if they played any role in the racket.
The roles of five “verification and granting” officers attached to Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Kolkata and five “verification officers” from different police stations in various divisions of Kolkata Police are under scrutiny as part of the investigation into the fake passport racket.
In a related development, a 61-year-old retired police officer, Abdul Hai, was arrested in North 24 Parganas for his alleged involvement in the racket. Hai, a former Sub-Inspector attached to the passport section of Kolkata Police, was implicated after investigators found his connection to the network facilitating fake passports for infiltrators.
With Hai’s arrest, the total number of people apprehended in the case has risen to nine. According to the police, the racket operated under the guise of a travel agency and had illegally issued 73 fake Indian passports to infiltrators, particularly Bangladeshi citizens.
Earlier, Kolkata Police arrested Dhiren Ghosh, 48, from his rented house in Madanpur, Chakdaha, in Nadia district. Several incriminating documents were seized during the raid. Ghosh’s name surfaced during the interrogation of Manoj Gupta, one of the masterminds of the racket, who was arrested recently.
Other individuals apprehended in connection with the racket include college student Ripan Biswas, his father Samaresh, Mukhtar Alam, Tarak Nath Sen, and Dipankar Das.