JOIN USRattled over its negative publicity in the media after Pune-based hawala racketeer Hasan Ali Khan managed to get his passport from Patna within a week after submitting forged papers, the regional passport office (RPO) in Patna nabbed a Bangladeshi national Mohammad Noorul Nabi Hasan for trying to procure an Indian passport with the help of forged documents. His associate, a tout, identified as Mohammad Shahbul Haque, too, has been arrested.
Noorul, a resident of Sonagazi Feni in Bangladesh, is being questioned by the Patna police on how he procured a fake voter ID card using forged documents.
Noorul and his associate Haque of Siwan reached the newly built Passport Seva Kendra and submitted the related documents, including birth and residential certificates, while applying for the passport. The documents stated that Noorul was born on January 1, 1980.
“All the passport applications were checked thoroughly. During the time of verification, an official asked Noorul certain questions which he was unable to answer. He was not even able to speak proper Hindi. His accent gave rise to doubts in the minds of officials who were quizzing him. A nervous Noorul then asked them to speak to Haque. When Haque was questioned, the duo made an abortive attempt to flee but security guards overpowered them. They were later handed over to Patna police,” said Anand Kumar, regional passport officer.During interrogation, the arrested Bangladeshi national confessed that he wanted to obtain Indian passport to travel to Saudi Arabia. He used forged documents provided by Haque. Cases of procuring duplicate passports is not a new thing in Bihar. A few years back, passports of Farhan Malik and Aftab Ansari, the two terror masterminds in the Kolkata blast, were also issued passport from Patna office.