The CBI executed searches across 33 locations in Maharashtra following the registration of multiple FIRs against 14 officials from two Passport Seva Kendra centres involved in a corruption racket. Middlemen and agents were also implicated. The operation resulted in significant seizures, unveiling numerous suspicious transactions.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched an extensive search operation on Saturday, covering 33 sites in Maharashtra, after filing multiple FIRs against 14 officials from two Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) centers in Mumbai for extensive 'collusive corruption,' according to agency officials.
The agency uncovered a corruption network involving middlemen and officials at the PSK centers in Lower Parel and Malad. Eighteen agents and middlemen have also been named in the 12 FIRs filed by the CBI.
'These officers maintained regular contact with passport facilitation agents, conspiring with them to gain undue advantages in exchange for issuing passports on the basis of inadequate or manipulated documents,' an agency representative stated.
The malfeasance came to light during a joint surprise inspection conducted by the CBI and the vigilance department of the Ministry of External Affairs at the PSKs on June 26.
Analysis of mobile phones, social media communications, and UPI transactions revealed several suspicious activities amounting to lakhs of rupees, the officials noted.
The implicated PSK officials, who hold positions ranging from junior to senior passport assistants, allegedly collaborated with various passport agents and touts, receiving illicit gratification in their own or their family members' bank accounts, according to agency sources.
With clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs, the CBI registered 12 FIRs against both the officials and the intermediaries.
On Saturday, a broad search operation was carried out across Mumbai and Nashik, which led to the confiscation of digital devices, documents, and other incriminating evidence, officials reported.
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