Fake passport racket: Bengal cops identify foreign nationals on voters' list

Kolkata: Police are tracking foreign nationals, primarily Bangladeshis, who were enrolled in West Bengal’s voters' list using forged documents, officials said Wednesday.

Sources indicate that investigators have identified specific individuals whose fake Indian identity documents—including Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), AADHAAR cards, and Indian passports—were arranged by Azad Mullick, a Pakistani citizen recently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata.

Azad, a Pakistani citizen, first secured Bangladeshi citizenship before obtaining Indian citizenship through forged documents.

Investigations revealed that Mullick was registered as a voter in the Dum Dum-Uttar Assembly constituency in North 24 Parganas district, one of the seven Assembly constituencies under the Dum Dum Lok Sabha constituency.

Investigation also revealed that he had voted twice, first in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election and then in the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Now, the sources added, further investigation revealed that Azad was not the only one to become an "Indian voter" with forged documents.

All of them, the sources added, had voted in subsequent elections in the past with the clear intention of establishing their Indian citizenship, which they arranged for through unfair means and forged documents.

Investigating officials are working to dismantle networks of agents operating across hospitals, village panchayats, and municipalities, whose primary role is to procure fake birth certificates for illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Similarly, authorities are probing a parallel network within the state Food and Civil Supplies Department, which facilitates the creation of fraudulent ration cards for these individuals.

Investigations have revealed that these fake birth certificates and ration cards serve as foundational documents for obtaining additional Indian identity papers.

Law enforcement has identified a distinct pattern in the operations of these document fraud rackets, shedding light on their systematic approach within this chain of crime.

Infiltrators illegally crossing over to the Indian territory, contacting the local agents, and showing willingness to pay out hefty amounts for getting fake Indian identity documents are first provided with safe shelters at the different villages adjacent to the borders with Bangladesh in the state, both land and coastal.

Thereafter, the agents arrange for fake birth certificates and fake ration cards, which is the first step for making other identity documents like EPIC cards, AADHAR cards, and PAN cards. The last step is getting the fake passports based on these other fake identity documents.

(inputs from IANS)