Date:10/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/10/stories/2007111060940600.htm

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Fake passport ring busted

Special Correspondent

TIRUCHI: The city police has busted a criminal ring involved in making forged documents for obtaining passports.

A special team investigating the case following the arrest of a woman passport applicant in October had taken into custody five persons, including a couple, over the past 10 days.

Several forged certificates, a computer, scanner, printer, lamination machine, seals and stamps of government agencies used for preparing birth certificates, ration cards, voter ID cards, school transfer certificates, mark lists and bank passbooks, were recovered from them apart from 30 passports.

Ten persons were arrested. This included two employees of Tiruchi Regional Passport Office who were arrested earlier along with the passport applicant Reena alias Thasleema Mariam, whose supporting documents were forged.

City Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal, addressing a press conference here on Friday, said that the scope of investigation was being widened. “We have decided to co-opt the Regional Passport Office and government agencies, whose seals and stamps were recovered from the arrested criminals, to take the investigation further,” Mr.Jiwal said.

The investigations indicated that the criminals were operating only through the Tiruchi Passport Office.

Those arrested now include Siva alias Sivakumar, a broker, Mohamed Iliyas (40) and his wife Farida Fathima (39) of Palakkarai.