<p>Kolkata/New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday arrested two persons including an official for their alleged involvement in issuing passports on the basis of forged documents, officials said on Saturday.</p><p>The agency on Saturday conducted searches at 50 locations in West Bengal and Sikkim and booked 24 people including government officials in the passport scam.</p><p>"We have busted a major passport racket in West Bengal and Sikkim and arrested a senior superintendent of Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) at Gangtok in Sikkim while accepting a bribe of Rs 1.90 lakh from another person. That person who is a passport agent was also arrested," the CBI said in a statement released Saturday evening.</p>.SC stays HC order for CBI probe into alleged irregularities in UP Vidhan Sabha recruitment.<p>A case was registered against 24 accused people including a Deputy Passport Officer in Kolkata and other public servants, it added.</p><p>During the search, CBI detectives also seized an amount of Rs 3.08 lakh in cash from the possession of the arrested PSLK official.</p><p>As part of the crackdown on the racket, searches were conducted at different places including Kolkata, Siliguri, Darjeeling, Alipurduar and Gangtok in Sikkim.</p><p>"Raids were conducted at the premises of accused people including public servants and a large number of incriminating documents related to identity proofs, issuance of forged passports were seized," an official said.</p><p>CBI detectives continued raids at the passport office in Kolkata, besides places in Salt Lake and Howrah.</p><p>The central agency conducted a surprise raid at the residence of a person at Uluberia in Howrah district in the wee hours of Saturday.</p><p>He was questioned for nearly six hours after which the CBI sleuths took him away with them, the officer said.</p><p>"The man is an employee of the passport office. We raided his residence in Uluberia this morning and grilled him," the officer told <em>PTI</em>.</p><p>The FIR names 24 individuals including 16 officials who were allegedly issuing passports on the basis of forged documents to ineligible persons, including non-residents, in return for bribes, they said.</p>
<p>Kolkata/New Delhi: The CBI on Saturday arrested two persons including an official for their alleged involvement in issuing passports on the basis of forged documents, officials said on Saturday.</p><p>The agency on Saturday conducted searches at 50 locations in West Bengal and Sikkim and booked 24 people including government officials in the passport scam.</p><p>"We have busted a major passport racket in West Bengal and Sikkim and arrested a senior superintendent of Passport Seva Laghu Kendra (PSLK) at Gangtok in Sikkim while accepting a bribe of Rs 1.90 lakh from another person. That person who is a passport agent was also arrested," the CBI said in a statement released Saturday evening.</p>.SC stays HC order for CBI probe into alleged irregularities in UP Vidhan Sabha recruitment.<p>A case was registered against 24 accused people including a Deputy Passport Officer in Kolkata and other public servants, it added.</p><p>During the search, CBI detectives also seized an amount of Rs 3.08 lakh in cash from the possession of the arrested PSLK official.</p><p>As part of the crackdown on the racket, searches were conducted at different places including Kolkata, Siliguri, Darjeeling, Alipurduar and Gangtok in Sikkim.</p><p>"Raids were conducted at the premises of accused people including public servants and a large number of incriminating documents related to identity proofs, issuance of forged passports were seized," an official said.</p><p>CBI detectives continued raids at the passport office in Kolkata, besides places in Salt Lake and Howrah.</p><p>The central agency conducted a surprise raid at the residence of a person at Uluberia in Howrah district in the wee hours of Saturday.</p><p>He was questioned for nearly six hours after which the CBI sleuths took him away with them, the officer said.</p><p>"The man is an employee of the passport office. We raided his residence in Uluberia this morning and grilled him," the officer told <em>PTI</em>.</p><p>The FIR names 24 individuals including 16 officials who were allegedly issuing passports on the basis of forged documents to ineligible persons, including non-residents, in return for bribes, they said.</p>