New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered 12 cases against 32 persons including Senior Passport Assistants and Passport Assistants posted at Passport Sewa Kendras (PSKs) of Lower Parel and Malad in Mumbai on allegations collusive corruption with agents and touts, the Central probe agency said on Saturday.
The CBI conducted searches at about 33 locations of accused public servants and other accused persons situated in Mumbai and Nashik. This led to recovery of several incriminating documents and digital evidence pertaining to passport documents, the officials said.
According to the CBI officials, it was alleged that these officers were in regular contact with passport facilitation agents and conspiring with them to obtain undue advantage in lieu of issuance of passport based on inadequate, incomplete documents or by manipulating the personal particulars of passport applicants.
On June 26, joint surprise checks were conducted at PSK Parel and PSK Malad along with the Vigilance Officers of the Passport Seva Programme (PSP) Division, Ministry of External Affairs and officers of RPO Mumbai, the CBI officials said.
During the surprise check, the office desks and mobile phones of the suspect officers were analysed jointly by CBI team and Vigilance Officers of PSP, Division, MEA. The analysis of documents, social media chats and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ID activities of suspect public servants revealed various suspicious transactions by some officials of PSKs indicating demand and acceptance of undue advantage through the passport facilitation agents for issuance of passports as well as to get passports issued based on inadequate, fake and forged documents, the officials pointed out.
The suspect officers of PSKs in connivance with various passport facilitation agents and touts were allegedly receiving huge monetary undue advantages directly in their own bank accounts or in the bank accounts of their near and dear family members from the passport facilitation agents and touts to the tune of several lakhs of rupees, the CBI official said in a statement.
