Pune: Goa Passport Office Cancels Passports of Bangladeshi Infiltrators from Pimpri Chinchwad

Reported by Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad/Panaji, 12th December 2024: A racket involving Bangladeshi infiltrators obtaining Indian passports by residing in Pimpri Chinchwad city and using the Regional Passport Office in Goa has come to light. Nearly 19 Bangladeshi infiltrators living in Pimpri Chinchwad’s Sangvi area and one from Pune’s Dattawadi area have been identified. The Goa Passport Office has cancelled these passports following a request from the Pimpri Chinchwad Police in July 2024.

The issue surfaced when a Bangladeshi citizen was apprehended at an Indian airport. During the investigation conducted by the Maharashtra State Intelligence Department (SID), information emerged about a Bangladeshi citizen residing in the Sainath Nagar area of Nigdi. Acting on this lead, a team led by Assistant Police Inspector Ambarish Deshmukh arrested the individual along with four other suspects. An agent involved in facilitating the creation of these passports was also detained.

Interrogation revealed that 19 individuals residing within the jurisdiction of Sangvi Police Station and one from Dattawadi, Pune, had procured passports from the Goa Passport Office. In response, the Nigdi Police sent a letter to the Goa Passport Office in July 2024, requesting the cancellation of these passports. The Goa Passport Office has now confirmed the cancellation through formal communication to the Nigdi Police.

The passport office in Pune was known for assigning interview dates with significant delays. In contrast, Goa experiences a constant flow of foreign nationals, making it easier to secure visas after obtaining passports from the Goa office. Taking advantage of this, Bangladeshi infiltrators managed to acquire passports from the Goa office using Pimpri Chinchwad addresses. It was discovered that 64 Bangladeshi nationals obtained passports this way, with most of them travelling abroad after securing visas.

These individuals initially infiltrated West Bengal, where they created fake birth certificates or school leaving certificates using forged stamps of schools and gram panchayats. Based on these fake documents, they acquired Aadhaar cards and PAN cards. After moving to Pimpri Chinchwad, they rented rooms and signed contracts, which they used to open bank accounts. Using the passbooks from these accounts, they updated their Aadhaar card addresses and subsequently applied for passports with the updated information.