A large number of Bangladeshi nationals have been crossing over to Assam to procure fake Indian passports and migrating to middle-east countries. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

Guwahati: At the time when India’s war on terror is intensifying, a large number of Bangladeshi nationals are found to have been crossing over to Assam to procure fake Indian passports and migrating to middle-east countries.

In what came to light recently a large number of suspected Bangladeshi nationals are feared to have procured Indian passports for which names, addresses and identity proof of genuine Indian citizens have been used.

Pointing out that security agencies have documentary evidences on this racket flourishing in Nagaon, Karimganj, Hailakandi and Silchar districts of Assam, security sources said that trend was alarming and requires urgent attention of the state police, which provides verification reports to the regional passport offices (RPO).

The investigation has revealed that verification reports were sold by a section of police officers for an amount ranging from Rs. 1-2 lakh. Security sources said that this racket first came to light when a youth working in a canteen of an IT company in Pune was caught by Maharashtra police. They said the youth was a Bangladeshi national but had an Indian passport which he used to travel to Pakistan and Saudi Arab.

In another case in Karimganj district, police have arrested 13 people, including a political leader, two teachers and Bangladeshi nationals on charges of running a fake passport racket.

The arrested people were identified as Selim Uddin, Kabir Uddin, Aftab Uddin Khan Choudhury, Matab Uddin, Moinul Hoque Choudhury, Sahajahan Ali, Bilal Ahmed Khan Choudhury, Badrul Mullah Mustafa and Manuwara Begum, a Congress leader and panchayat president of Binodini village, all residents of Karimganj district, and four residents of Sylhet in Bangladesh – Sumon Ahmed, Dilwar Hussain, Sabbir Ahmed, and Sahid Ahmed.

Security sources said that all the four arrested Bangladeshi nationals are very affluent businessmen.

Meanwhile, police are looking for two absconding suspects, who had gone to a Regional Passport Office to claim their passports that could not be delivered on their postal addresses in Assam’s Nagaon district, security sources said. The two men were asked to wait at the office but they fled before the police arrived. The passports were issued on the basis of a police verification report.

Referring that from Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar to the Paris attack mastermind were found to have been using fake passports to unleash terror, security sources said that it was high time for the Assam government to launch detailed investigation into the verification reports issued by the state police in the last few years.

Security sources said that these fake passports are suspected to have been procured in the name and identity proof of genuine Indian citizens living in remote areas, only photographs have been changed. Security sources said that demand of Indian passport was also high because some middle-east countries prefer to give job to Indians.