Two individuals were arrested in a fake passport scam at the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in Lower Parel, Mumbai. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Verification Officer (Office Assistant) employed at the PSK and a private agent who allegedly facilitated the scam. These arrests were part of a big investigation into the issuance of Indian Passports based on fake documents. IANS reported that a First Information Report (FIR) was filed in this case between 2023 and 2024. The two accused schemed to provide seven unidentified people passports using fake Aadhar Cards, PAN Cards, bank statements, and birth certificates.
The two who were arrested by the CBI played an important role in bypassing the verification process to get fake documents approved. The duo evaded during the questioning and have been remanded to CBI custody till June 2. The authorities are investigating this case.
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This incident comes after a Bangladeshi woman was detained by the Sahar Police at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on suspicion of entering India unlawfully and using fraudulent documents to get an Indian passport. Mariyakhatun Mohammad Mansoor Ali, the woman, had left Bangladesh 33 years ago because she was starving and impoverished. After getting married to an Indian, she used his identity to get an Indian passport, which she used to travel and work in Kuwait for six years.
Immigration officer Sameer Gaibu Pathan, who lives in the Kurla region, made the arrest early on Sunday while checking the paperwork of passengers who were entering the airport. Around 2:30 am, Mariyakhatun landed in Mumbai from Kuwait. The immigration officers held her for interrogation because they suspected that her documents had errors. She acknowledged under questioning that she was a citizen of Bangladesh and disclosed that she had entered India illegally when she was 15 in order to flee acute poverty.