Investigators probing the illegal passport racket in West Bengal say the recent arrest of a Barasat resident in the case has revealed how criminals operate.
The accused, Samir Das, is alleged to have posed as a clerk in the Barasat court and sold fake documents to Bangladeshi citizens in lieu of cash.
Police sources said Samir Das also owned a grocery store with a photocopier.
Although he copied government-issued local IDs, he often made an additional copy. After that, he would change the picture in the document by replacing it with a picture of a Bangladeshi.
The forged document will then be used to obtain an Indian passport.
Sources further said that Samir Das also worked as a broker and provided accommodation on rent to Bangladeshis using fake documents.
It has been learned that Samir Das has earned a reputation in Bangladesh for being able to provide fake documents quickly.
He allegedly charged Rs 15,000 for Aadhaar card, Rs 10,000 for voter card, Rs 12,000 for birth certificate, Rs 3,000 for PAN card.
According to police sources, at least two others arrested in the case, Kaushik Mondol and Chandan Chakraborty, alleged that Samir Das lured them into line by offering them large sums of money.
It is reported that Chakraborty used to bring clients to Das and Mondol, who were using the Aadhaar center in Barasat, and helping to obtain identity proofs for Bangladeshi immigrants.
When contacted, the people of Barasat’s Nabbapally area said that Samir Das has been the owner of a grocery store for years and they never suspected that he would be involved in such a racket. However, they added that there seems to be an unprecedented increase in Das’ income since 2020, as he has converted his one-storey house to a four-storey one.
According to police sources, Samir Das allegedly received orders from his contacts across the border to prepare fake documents required to obtain an Indian passport. The roles of his two sons are also being looked into, they added.
Earlier, nine people were arrested by the Kolkata Police in connection with the illegal passport racket.
The accused include retired police inspector Abdul Hai, Dhiren Ghosh, Manoj Gupta, college student Ripan Biswas and his father Samaresh Biswas, Mukhtar Alam, Tarak Nath Sen, Dipankar Das, and one other person.
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