A large scale fraud by passport agents has been unearthed in the city. The Regional Passport Office has identified at least 50 cases this year where the applicants, in connivance with passport agents, produced fake verification certificates supposedly from IAS officials, police and army officials. The Regional Passport Officer Mr K. Srikar Reddy said, “We have revoked 50 passports which were obtained under the Tatkal Scheme by producing fake documents. While cross checking we found that the verification certificates were not issued by the officials concerned.”
The Begumpet police had earlier booked a case of fake verification certificates involving army officials. A seven-member gang was arrested for forging signatures of senior army officers for the purpose of Tatkal passports. The Saifabad police booked a case after a passport agent forged the signature of an IAS officer on the verification certificate. Market inspector of police S. Vinod Kumar said, “Ever since the Passport Seva Kendra opened in Ameerpet, Begumpet and Toli Chowki, the concerned police stations have been booking cases of submission of fake verification certificates which were earlier being booked by us when the passports were issued at the RPO Secunderabad. Of the 14 cases booked, two are related to these fake verification certificates.” He also added that passport agents who were cheating the public were also amongst those arrested.