New ED Raids in Nadia District Linked to Fake Passport Investigation

Kolkata, April 17 (NationPress) Officials from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have initiated new raids and search operations starting Thursday morning at Chakdaha in the Nadia district of West Bengal.

The ED's actions are part of an investigation into the financial misconduct linked to a significant fake Indian passport racket operating within West Bengal.

The individuals behind this racket are providing counterfeit documents and passports to unauthorized Bangladeshi migrants in India.

While the specifics of these new raids and search operations remain undisclosed, sources familiar with the situation have indicated that the operations are taking place at the residence of a close associate of two key figures in the racket, Alok Nath and Azad Mullick, both of whom were apprehended earlier this week by ED officials.

So far, ED officials have refrained from revealing the identities of the individuals at whose residence in Chakdaha the ongoing raid and search activities are taking place.

Nath was taken into custody on Tuesday evening from his workplace at Gede in Nadia district, which is in close proximity to the International Border with Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, Mullick, a resident of Bangladesh, was arrested the same night by central agency officials from his rented location near Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, situated on the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

Mullick was not only living in Kolkata with fraudulent Indian identity documents, including an Indian passport, but was also running a hawala racket from his residence.

According to the ED's findings, he transferred a total of Rs 2.62 crore over the past year from India to Bangladesh through the Hawala route.

Last month, the Kolkata Police submitted a charge sheet in the case concerning the forgery of passports at a lower court in Kolkata. The document indicated that out of the 130 individuals mentioned, 120 are residents of Bangladesh, while the remaining are Indian nationals.

The primary accusations against the Bangladeshi nationals involve substantial payments made to obtain fake Indian passports.

In contrast, the charges against the Indian nationals pertain to their roles as facilitators in arranging counterfeit Indian identity documents, including passports, for these Bangladeshi migrants.

Previously, the Kolkata Police apprehended Abdul Hai, a retired Assistant Sub-Inspector of the city police. The charge sheet also included details regarding Hai's participation in the operation.

It outlined Hai's financial benefits gained from 52 police verification clearances, where he was the primary verification officer.