Jabalpur ATS in Action Another Afghan national held with fake passport

 

 

 

Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Jabalpur Unit has arrested another Afghan national in connection with a fake passport racket operating using forged Indian documents. The accused identified as Mohammed Akbar (27) entered India from Afghanistan. According to ATS official, Akbar was living in West Bengal and was apprehended from Kolkata. The ATS team brought him to Jabalpur late Sunday night. He was produced before the court from where he sent at Central Jail Jabalpur, on Monday.

 

This arrest comes just three days after the ATS nabbed another Afghan national, Sohbat Khan, from the Omti area of Jabalpur. During interrogation, Sohbat revealed that Akbar had also obtained an Indian passport using forged documents with a fake Jabalpur address of Hanumantal area. He further disclosed that Akbar had facilitated the passport of another Afghan associate using similar forged credentials. ATS is currently searching for this third Afghan national. The case has heightened concerns among security agencies regarding the existence of a wider network involved in producing fake identity documents and passports. According to ATS, Akbar destroyed his original Afghan passport after settling in India. Later, he decided to return to Afghanistan and got in touch with Sohbat, whom he met through other Afghan residents in India. Sohbat offered to arrange the passport for Rs 2.5 lakh. He collaborated with three locals, Chandan Singh, Mahesh Sukhdaan and Dinesh Garg, who helped Akbar obtain a forged passport using a fake address in Jabalpur.

 

The passport arrangement was made entirely through phone communication. Sohbat co-ordinated with the gang members and payments were transferred online. Dinesh Garg of Vijay Nagar, Mahesh Sukhdaan of Katanga and Chandan Singh of Shankar Shah Nagar created fake residence and identity documents using a Jabalpur address in Hanumantal area. Akbar arrived in Jabalpur only once, on the date of verification at the Passport Seva Kendra. He met Sohbat, completed the formalities including photographs and verification and returned to Kolkata. Once the passport was issued, the gang intercepted it by bribing a postman. Currently, Afghan national Sohbat Khan and associates Dinesh Garg and Mahesh Sukhdaan are in ATS custody under remand and Chandan Singh sent in jail.