Kolkata: Two persons were arrested from Birbhum district on Monday after the West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) dismantled “a well-organised, inter-state syndicate which forges government documents/IDs,” people in the know said.
“The two prime accused are Sheikh Miraj Hossain (21) and Abdul Kuddus (30),” a senior official of the Bengal STF said.
“The group was involved in fabricating fake official documents for fraudulent purposes,” senior official sources said.
“A good number of forged official documents and digital tools were seized during the operation,” according to an official.
“A police case was registered at the Special Task Force (Headquarters) Police Station on Tuesday under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — the Information Technology Act, the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, and the Foreigners Act,” an official statement by the Bengal STF said.
This marks a major breakthrough by the Bengal STF, as reports about fake passport rackets and fraudulent document syndicates involved in forging Aadhaar cards, passports, and other documents have emerged from various parts of Bengal in recent months.
It is learnt that the West Bengal CEO’s office has also been receiving documents from the Foreign Registration Office (FRO) to verify EPIC cards daily — a number that has increased in recent months.
After several fake passport rackets were busted in West Bengal, there has been a rise in verification requests of EPIC cards being sent from the FRO and police to the Bengal Election Commission office every day, a senior official told ET.
“Now, for passport-related applications, complete information on the EPIC of the applicants is being sought from the EC. For this, we are receiving 4–5 verification-related queries from FROs and the police every day,” a top EC official said.
“The two prime accused are Sheikh Miraj Hossain (21) and Abdul Kuddus (30),” a senior official of the Bengal STF said.
“The group was involved in fabricating fake official documents for fraudulent purposes,” senior official sources said.
“A good number of forged official documents and digital tools were seized during the operation,” according to an official.
“A police case was registered at the Special Task Force (Headquarters) Police Station on Tuesday under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — the Information Technology Act, the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, and the Foreigners Act,” an official statement by the Bengal STF said.
This marks a major breakthrough by the Bengal STF, as reports about fake passport rackets and fraudulent document syndicates involved in forging Aadhaar cards, passports, and other documents have emerged from various parts of Bengal in recent months.
It is learnt that the West Bengal CEO’s office has also been receiving documents from the Foreign Registration Office (FRO) to verify EPIC cards daily — a number that has increased in recent months.
After several fake passport rackets were busted in West Bengal, there has been a rise in verification requests of EPIC cards being sent from the FRO and police to the Bengal Election Commission office every day, a senior official told ET.
“Now, for passport-related applications, complete information on the EPIC of the applicants is being sought from the EC. For this, we are receiving 4–5 verification-related queries from FROs and the police every day,” a top EC official said.
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