Racket busted: two held,54 fake passports recovered

The main accused in the racket has been arrested twice earlier,by the CBI and the Airport police,in 2004 and 2008,respectively. The police have recovered 54 fake Indian passports,blank visa stickers and 22 fake stamps of the Indian immigration authorities,fake documents of embassies of Schengen countries and nationalised banks.

The accused,Anil Dhawan (31),alias Matto,a resident of West Patel Nagar,and Pritpal Singh (32),a resident of Hari Nagar,were arrested on Thursday. During interrogation,Dhawan confessed that he has been running the racket since 2002.

“He was arrested in 2004 by the Central Bureau of Investigation with 20 other associates. He was arrested by the IGI Airport police in 2008,again in a fake passport case,” Alok Kumar,DCP Special Cell,said.

After coming out of jail,he reorganised the racket with the help of Pritpal Singh and a few others.

The team used to target people aspiring to go abroad and Afghan nationals keen to stay on in India illegally. Singh and Dhawan had a network of touts in various states,including Delhi and Punjab. “He charged his clients anything between Rs 2 and 5 lakh,” Kumar said.

Singh has been working with Dhawan since 2005. His job was to arrange fake visas and other supporting documents for his clients. “He used to lure people in Delhi,Punjab and other states and provide them with forged visa and passports,” Kumar said.