A retired Kolkata Police sub-inspector, Abdul Hai, was arrested on Friday night for allegedly clearing passport applications without conducting proper inquiries or verifying identity documents. The 61-year-old officer had retired a year ago and was previously attached to the passport section of the police’s Security Control Organisation (SCO).
Following a raid at Abdul’s home in Kamarpur Sabdalpur, North 24-Parganas, he was arrested at approximately 11:45 pm. Police believe Abdul was part of a larger network involved in issuing faulty or fraudulent documents for passport applications. His arrest brings the total number of individuals apprehended in this passport fraud case to nine.
The SCO, located on AJC Bose Road near Exide crossing, is responsible for verifying applicants within Kolkata Police’s jurisdiction. Authorities revealed that Abdul had cleared at least 52 passport applications out of 240 submitted to the regional passport office, with several discrepancies found in the submitted identity documents.
Investigators are now looking into whether Abdul had any connection to Manoj Gupta, the alleged mastermind behind a racket producing fake identity documents to secure Indian passports for foreigners. There are also allegations that Abdul may have received bribes for each passport application he approved. Authorities are working to verify these claims.
On December 29, Kolkata Police arrested Manoj Gupta, the suspected kingpin of the passport fraud, from Gaighata, close to Abdul’s residence in Habra. Abdul’s wife defended him, stating that he had maintained a spotless career and was unaware of any involvement in the fraud. She claimed he had always acted in good faith, with no history of corruption.
Abdul’s arrest comes after an investigation launched on September 27 by the Bhowanipore police station into cheating, forgery, and violations of the Passport Act. The special investigation team has since apprehended several individuals connected to the fraudulent activities but had not previously detained a police officer. With Abdul’s arrest, authorities are now focusing on other police personnel who may have been complicit.
The passport fraud case began when the Calcutta passport office discovered that 240 passports had been issued with suspicious documentation. A subsequent internal review identified multiple discrepancies in the identity documents, which had been overlooked by the police.
