Ghaziabad: Police in Ghaziabad have busted a sophisticated racket that allegedly helped applicants obtain genuine passports using forged documents, with the involvement of agents, a postman, and a police constable.
The scam came to light after officials at the Delhi Passport Office flagged a cluster of suspicious applications in December. Investigators found that 24 passports were linked to a single mobile number and the same residential address.
Five Arrested, One Cop Suspended
Police arrested five accused from different locations in Delhi and Ghaziabad:
- Vivek Gandhi (35), Qutub Vihar, Delhi
- Prakash Subba (61), Chattarpur, Delhi
- Arun Kumar (32), postman at Modinagar post office
- Satwant Kaur (61) and
- Amandeep Singh (19), Tilak Nagar, West Delhi
In addition, constable Deepak Kumar was suspended for allegedly accepting bribes to bypass police verification.
How the Racket Was Detected
The fraud was uncovered on December 12, when passport officials noticed multiple applications sharing the same contact number and address.
ACP (Modinagar) Amit Saxena said police visited the address and found only two residents living there.
“They produced valid documents, which meant the address used in the remaining 22 passports was fake,” he said.
Role of the Postman
Investigators then tracked the delivery route of the passports and found that all were dispatched to a post office in Bhojpur.
Arun Kumar, the local postman, allegedly admitted that Gandhi and Subba had approached him months earlier and instructed him not to deliver certain passports to the listed addresses.
“They offered him ₹2,000 per passport to divert the deliveries. Out of greed, he agreed,” Saxena said.
Forged Documents and Fake Applications
Police said the two agents charged around ₹25,000 per passport and handled applications online on behalf of clients.
To support these applications, they allegedly forged key documents, including Aadhaar cards, driving licences, and birth certificates.
On verification days, applicants would appear at the passport office with these fake documents, which were reportedly prepared so carefully that officials found it difficult to detect discrepancies.
Once issued, all passports were sent to the same Bhojpur address and later diverted by the postman.
Beneficiaries and Motive
Two of the passports were issued to Satwant Kaur and Amandeep Singh. During questioning, they reportedly told police they planned to travel to Canada.
Authorities are now verifying the identities and backgrounds of all 22 beneficiaries.
Probe Into Police Verification
The case has also raised serious questions about the police verification system.
“We are examining how 22 passports linked to one address cleared scrutiny. One constable has been suspended, but more officials may be involved,” a senior officer said.
Legal Action
An FIR has been registered at Bhojpur Police Station against the agents, the postman, alleged beneficiaries, and unknown persons under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act, including charges related to conspiracy, cheating, and forgery.
Police have also written to the government seeking cancellation of the fraudulently obtained passports and are checking with airport authorities to determine whether any of them were used.
Further investigation is underway.
