Jabalpur, Aug 2 In a major crackdown on identity fraud and illegal immigration, the Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested an Afghan national, Sohbat Khan, from Jabalpur for allegedly operating a passport racket using forged documents.
Khan, who had been living illegally in India for over a decade, is accused of facilitating the creation of Indian passports for Afghan citizens through fabricated residential and identity proofs.
According to officials, two other persons have been arrested for helping him.
The accused have been identified as Dinesh Garg, a forest guard currently posted in the Election Cell of the Collector's Office, and Mahendra Kumar Sukhdan, a resident of the Katanga area.
Both are suspected of playing roles in document fabrication and procedural manipulation.
Khan not only secured an Indian passport for himself in 2020 using fake documentation but also extended the service to Afghan associates residing in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh.
Investigators have so far identified 20 suspicious cases linked to the racket, with financial transactions amounting to approximately Rs 10 lakh.
Khan reportedly obtained a driving license in Jabalpur in 2015, which served as a precursor to his fraudulent passport application. He had also married a local woman, further embedding himself in the community.
Among the confirmed beneficiaries of the racket are two Afghan nationals, Akbar and Iqbal, who received passports registered to fictitious addresses in Jabalpur.
The ATS has widened its probe to identify individuals who aided the racket by preparing fake documents, facilitating police verifications, and retrieving passports from post offices under false pretences.
ATS officials are currently interrogating Khan to uncover the full extent of the network and its operational mechanisms. The case has raised serious concerns about vulnerabilities in identity verification systems and the potential misuse of administrative channels.
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