CBI’s search at premises of ‘passport tout’ yields 1.6 crore

MUMBAI: The CBI probing corruption in passport offices seized Rs 1.59 crore in cash along with a diary during the search of a tout's premises on Monday. This diary contained the names of several Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) officials along with others and the bribe amounts paid to them, officials said.
Meanwhile, the CBI also sought mandatory permission from the appropriate authority to register corruption cases against two more senior PSK officials involved in collusive corruption.
When the CBI, along with the Regional Passport Officer (RPO - Mumbai) Dr. Rajesh Gawande’s team and Vigilance officials from the Passport Seva Programme Division of the Ministry of External Affairs, jointly probed the suspected officials at the two Passport Seva Kendras (PSKs) in Malad and Lower Parel, they found incriminating evidence.
While going through the mobile phones, including chat messages and UPI transaction details, the CBI found that the suspected officials had received money from touts through UPI transfers
The CBI had searched around 14 junior-level PSK officials last Saturday after registering 12 separate FIRs against them and 18 touts. The searches were made based on the details of monetary transactions found in the mobile phones of PSK officials during surprise checks at the PSK offices at Lower Parel and Malad on Wednesday.
During further examination, the CBI discovered the involvement of more officials and touts in the racket, prompting further searches on Sunday and Monday. The tout claimed to have kept the money for investing in the stock market. However, the CBI suspects that it is bribe money collected on behalf of the PSK officials and others.
It is stated that the touts mainly bribed the PSK officials to issue passports by avoiding mandatory document verification with the help of forged documents. In some instances, they issued passports despite pending criminal cases against applicants.
The CBI is putting up posters at prominent places, advertising their WhatsApp number, 8433700000, landline number 022-26543700, and email id- [email protected], appealing to people to report them about central government officials engaged in corruption.