Chennai:
The CBI unearthed a passport racket in Tamil Nadu being run allegedly in connivance with officials, arresting eight persons, including a woman officer. The accused, arrested in Madurai and Chennai, have been charged with issuing Tatkal passports based on forged and fake documents.
The investigating agency also recovered cash and other property to the tune of around Rs 25 lakh from them. CBI teams conducted simultaneous surprise checks at the passport offices in Madurai and Chennai and arrested the officials and touts, a release of the agency said.
"CBI officials received a tip-off about issue of passport to individuals based on forged and fabricated documents in connivance with the officials of passport offices at Chennai and Madurai," the release said.
In Madurai, the sleuths recovered documents which show corrupt activities in the issuance of Tatkal passports. Assistant Passport Officer Geetha Bai, assistant P Durairaj and Office Assistant Anbalagan were arrested, it said.
"They entertained applications for fresh Tatkal passports based on false and forged documents through touts and allowed issuance of passport based on such forged and fabricated documents such as birth certificates" it said.
Two touts were also arrested.
Searches at the office and residential premises of the arrested yielded Rs 7 lakh cash; fixed deposits worth Rs 13 lakh and documents including property documents.
The arrested persons were remanded in judicial custody. At Chennai, three persons, a passport office employee and two touts were arrested on similar charges.