In a major crackdown on an international passport racket in West Bengal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an individual. The person, identified as Indubhushan Haldar alias Dulal, was caught in Kolkata and hails from Chakdah village in Nadia district. He is accused of facilitating over 250 fake Indian passports for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants with the aid of Pakistani agent Azad Hussain.
According to the ED, the arrest was made on October 13 in Kolkata. Haldar resided in Chakdah, a border area considered a hub for illegal immigration and identity document scams, near the India-Bangladesh border. The mastermind behind this operation is Azad Hussain alias Azad Malik, a Pakistani national.
Hussain was arrested by the ED in April this year. Investigations revealed he lived in India under a false identity and as Azad Malik. He provided Indian identification and passports to illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in return for money. This agent had been active in India for several years and had established contacts with some local networks in Bengal.
One of these contacts was Indubhushan Haldar, who managed the network's ground operations. Azad Malik would collect money from Bangladeshi citizens and direct them to Haldar. Haldar then prepared fake documents, which were used to issue passports. Through this scheme, he facilitated over 250 fake document cases, leading to the issuance of Indian passports.
This activity brought him considerable profit, and he now faces charges for money laundering. The investigative agency noted that both the special PMLA court and the Calcutta High Court denied Haldar's anticipatory bail petition. Consequently, the ED has taken him into custody for interrogation. Haldar admitted to meeting Hussain several times.
This network supplied fake Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and residence certificates to Bangladeshi citizens, enabling them to obtain Indian passports. The ED had named Azad Hussain in a chargesheet in June. He is currently in judicial custody. Authorities are actively probing to identify further individuals involved in this racket.
Investigation officials state that this network not only posed serious threats to national security but also paved the way for agents from Pakistan and Bangladesh to acquire Indian identities. The ED's arrests reaffirm that the proliferation of fake document rackets is deeply ingrained in border areas. A thorough investigation into this racket is ongoing.
