CCB obtains passports retained by UK deputy high commission

The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru City police has secured the passports which were retained by the UK Deputy High Commission in Chennai for having fake immigration stamps.

The police are collecting details about the eight persons who had filed applications for fresh passports when their passports were retained by the Deputy High Commission in Chennai.

The UK authorities had forwarded a petition to the Bengaluru police against three City-based agents and eight persons for producing fake documents and counterfeit immigration stamps. The scam was uncovered by the UK authorities after eight applicants from Bengaluru applied for visas using passports with fake immigration stamps.

A senior police officer said they had received the passports from the High Commission.
“We have the passports and also the identity of the eight persons. We will first examine these passports to ascertain their genuinity. Later, the police verification will also be examined.

The High Commission had not provided us the names of the agents,” the officer said.
The UK Deputy High Commission claimed that the eight applicants were advised by three agents to get fake immigration stamps on the passports to claim that they had travelled widely, only to hide their past violations of the UK visas.

The UK authorities had passed on the information and documents to both the regional passport officer here and CCB.

The passport authorities said the eight applicants had filed police complaints stating they had lost their passports, while it was retained by the High Commission in Chennai and also got the police verification cleared for obtaining fresh passports.

“Preliminary enquiry on the petition is going on and we will soon ascertain the channel through which the applicants approached the agents. The police are also verifying the police stations through which the verification had taken place when they filed applications seeking fresh passports,” a senior police officer said.