Siliguri, 14 October: In a significant breakthrough, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) unfolded a passport scam involving Siliguri. The illicit activity of availing passports on the basis of forged documents was prevalent in the city. Since Friday night, the CBI teams have been engaged in searches and raids at around 50 locations in West Bengal and Sikkim. In this regard, the Senior Superintendent of Passport Seva Kendra in Gangtok was arrested by CBI.
According to reports, passports were being obtained on the basis of fake documents after paying a large sum of money. The applicants paid money to the agents in return for passports. Significantly, the cash flow was not confined to agents; cash was also allegedly sent by the agents to the Passport Seva Kendra officials.
On Saturday morning, the CBI raided the residence of a person, named Varun Rathore, in Naxalbari under the Siliguri division. During the search, several forged documents and seals were recovered from the vacant land and trees near the said residence. Preliminary investigations indicate that the documents may have been thrown out as a measure to escape before the raid.
Sources revealed that the individual was issuing passports to people on the basis of fake documents for a notable period of time. Several applicants have paid him lakhs of rupees for making passports. Earlier, Varun worked as a temporary employee in the Gram Panchayat office. Later, he quit the job and joined the passport scam racket.