Passport Fraud Crackdown: 101 Fake Passports Issued in Sant Kabir Nagar

A major passport fraud racket has been exposed in Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, over the past two years, 101 fake passports were allegedly issued to individuals on false addresses, some of whom had criminal records.

The investigation began when anomalies were first detected in February 2023. The police found that a head constable, Manoj Kumar Patel, who was handling passport-related work, had allegedly altered police verification reports using the district ID password. Reports marked 'not clear' were changed to 'clear' in exchange for money.

As a result of the probe, 21 people have been arrested so far, including a passport agent and middlemen. One of the arrested individuals is a man from Gorakhpur who was intercepted at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on September 4 upon his return from Bangkok. He had obtained a passport under a fake identity and paid ₹30,000 to a middleman for the document.

Investigations have revealed that 47 of the 101 individuals with fake passports have already traveled abroad to countries like Congo, Dubai, Kuwait, Iraq, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. Lookout circulars have been issued against the remaining individuals who are still absconding.

The police are continuing their investigation to trace and arrest the other accused, including those currently abroad, in this complex passport fraud case.