Massive passport fraud affecting national security was reported from Kerala. Aziz Anzil, a Civil Police Officer (CPO) of Thumba Police Station, Thiruvananthapuram, has been charged with forging documents to obtain passports. His client list allegedly included the accused in criminal cases.
Anzil was under police surveillance for three days. He was suspended following the incident. His name has been added to the case for clearing passport verification using fake documents. There are reports that Anzil’s arrest will be recorded soon.
The police investigation found that a serious crime affecting national security was committed under the leadership of Anzil of Thumba police station. He allowed undeserving elements to get possession of the passport by forging documents.
The severe crime was brought to light by the suspicion of the police officer about the address shown in the document given by the accused in several criminal cases for passport verification. There are also reports that an alert passport officer became suspicious about the addresses and handed over the case to the Thumba Police Station House Officer (SHO) for re-verification.
The gang’s modus operandi was to collect money from those who needed passports (illegally) and apply at the passport office using an address in the Thumba police station limits. The gang operated by creating fake election cards for anyone outside the station limits. Then, the team would apply for the passport using the address of a rented house.
Anzil, the officer in charge of verification, would confirm the address and give the clearance. It is alleged that the group has obtained many such fraudulent passports. It is reported that CPO Anzil intervened in 13 of the 20 applications received at Thumba police station.
It was also found that fake documents were given to obtain a passport using the information of a person who died seventeen years ago. It is reported that there have been more than ten such cases. The gang allegedly issued fake identity cards to those on the Goonda list.
Zafarulla Khan and Altaf Manzil Badaruddin from Kollam on Friday, Kamlesh from Manakkad, Thiruvananthapuram, Edward from Mannanthala, and Sunil Kumar from Varkala were arrested on Saturday.
Kamlesh organised people looking for fake passports. Kamlesh prepared the identity documents for people in criminal cases who did not have sufficient documents to get passports.
In the Passport Verification Section, Anzil was earlier attached to the Kazhakoottam (the Information Technology capital of Kerala) police station in Thiruvananthapuram. All the passports that Anzil ‘verified’ will now be scrutinised. The police also verify how many have gone abroad using such fake passports.
Earlier, CPO Anzil received the DGP’s badge of honour for excellence in policing. Will an inquiry by the same best police officers reveal the truth about the escaped criminals?
