Kolkata, Nov 3 — The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted raids at an online passport application centre located near the Passport Seva Kendra in Kolkata, as part of its ongoing investigation into the fake passport racket operating across West Bengal.
According to ED sources, investigators collected vital information from the centre, suspecting that several such online facilities outside official passport offices might have facilitated the creation of forged travel documents.
Earlier in the day, the ED also raided the residence of a carpenter, Biplab Sarkar, in Padari village under Chakdaha, Nadia district. During the search, Biplab, his brother Binanda, and another person, Bipul Sarkar, were detained and later arrested for their suspected links to the racket. Officials have also brought another person from Nadia to the Kolkata ED office for further questioning.
The raid was prompted by leads obtained from the interrogation of Indu Bhushan Halder — a middleman arrested last month for helping foreigners acquire Indian identity documents, including passports, in exchange for money. Investigators revealed that around 350 fake passport applications were processed through Halder’s cyber café in Chakdaha, leading to Monday’s follow-up operation.
Officials are examining the Sarkar brothers’ passports, travel records, and bank transactions to determine whether they maintained any foreign links, particularly with Bangladesh. Their mobile phones and digital devices have also been seized for forensic analysis.
The fake passport racket came to light earlier this year when Pakistani national Azad Mallick was arrested for his involvement in producing forged Indian documents. The ED subsequently expanded its probe across Nadia and North 24 Parganas, suspecting links to illegal immigration, hawala networks, and visa fraud.
The state police had earlier filed a chargesheet naming 130 accused, including 120 alleged Bangladeshi infiltrators, and issued lookout notices against them.
