The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday sought an additional five-day custody of Ahammed Hossain Azad (53), initially arrested in a fake passport case as an alleged Bangladeshi national, but later allegedly found to be a Pakistani national.
Azad was arrested on April 15 from Birati, North 24 Parganas and produced before Chief Judge Sukumar Ray of the City Sessions Court. The ED’s counsel stated on Thursday, “We have enough evidence that shows that Azad has connections with Pakistan and the agency would like to interrogate the accused further in custody.”
Azad’s counsel said, “The accused has been in custody for a month. The liberty of my client is being curtailed. Last time the ED sought custody, (they) questioned him for only one day. We pray for judicial custody.”
In early interrogation, Azad allegedly maintained he was from Feni district in Bangladesh, with a wife and two sons there. Further investigation revealed he was originally from Pakistan. He entered Bangladesh and obtained a passport in 2017 under the name Ahammed Hossain Azad, then entered India in 2019 on a tourist visa and “managed to acquire Indian identity documents, including an Aadhaar card, voter ID, and an Indian passport.”
ED sources said they recovered 20,000 alleged pages of documents from two mobile phones belonging to Azad, including WhatsApp chats they want to show him during interrogation. Over 20,000 contact numbers were allegedly found, some with ISD codes indicating “regular contact with Pakistani citizens.” His mobile data also “revealed” associations with “suspicious” groups, and the ED is decoding numerous recovered voice recordings to identify his contacts and the nature of their conversations.
Azad was allegedly involved in a fake passport racket in the state, with funds routed to Bangladesh through hawala channels. The ED is probing whether this money financed terror or extremist activities. Officials are also investigating how Azad, who reportedly does not speak Bengali, lived and operated in Birati without raising suspicion.
Initially believed to be Bangladeshi, suspicions arose after examining his WhatsApp chats and call logs. A Pakistani driving license was also allegedly found during the ED’s search of Azad Mallick’s house in Birati. Transactions worth Rs 2.6 crore, allegedly from fake passport operations, have allegedly been traced. The ED is investigating the recipients of the forged documents and possible links to terrorist groups in Pakistan.
Azad is believed to have created fake Indian documents for at least 200 people, possibly up to 500, and used them to produce fraudulent passports. After obtaining fake Indian IDs, he allegedly expanded his network across India, contacted agents, and helped illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh secure Indian and foreign visas. The ED is investigating the extent of this network and others involved.