Daijiworld Media Network- Kolkata
Kolkata, Apr 19: In a major revelation in the West Bengal fake passport racket, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered evidence that proceeds from the scam were siphoned off to Bangladesh via illegal Hawala channels, raising concerns about a cross-border nexus involving fundamentalist groups.
Sources close to the investigation revealed that while the scam was primarily operated from West Bengal, it had strong financial and operational ties across the Bangladesh border, particularly in districts adjacent to India.
According to ED findings, the scam operated in two financial layers. In the first stage, payments of Rs 1.5–2 lac were collected to facilitate illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals into India, offering temporary shelter and fake preliminary documents such as ration cards, voter IDs, PAN cards, and Aadhaar.
The second layer involved additional payments ranging from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lac to generate forged Indian passports using the previously obtained fake identity documents.
Officials believe that a significant share of the money earned from this elaborate operation was remitted back to Bangladesh through the Hawala route — ironically funding the same region from where the illegal migrants originated. This financial flow has heightened concerns of possible links to extremist outfits operating in the neighbouring country.
Two major accused — Indian national Alok Nath and Bangladeshi citizen Azad Mullick — were recently apprehended from different parts of West Bengal. Mullick, owner of Mullick Trading Corporation, was found to possess forged Indian documents, including a passport, and is suspected to have been running a Hawala operation from his Kolkata residence.
Last month, Kolkata Police filed a chargesheet naming 130 accused individuals — 120 of whom are Bangladeshi nationals, with the rest being Indian facilitators. The Bangladeshi suspects are accused of securing fake Indian passports through substantial bribes, while their Indian counterparts allegedly aided in forging official identity documents.
The ED’s probe into the money trail is ongoing, and further arrests are expected as the agency digs deeper into the transnational implications of the scam.