E-Paper
CBI arrests Jalandhar regional passport officer, 2 APOs for graft
The accused have been identified as RPO Anup Singh and two APOs Hari Om and Sanjay Srivastav. During the raids, the CBI recovered ₹20 lakh.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids at Jalandhar’s regional passport office and arrested three officers, including regional passport officer (RPO) and two assistant passport officers (APOs), for allegedly receiving bribe to issue a passport, on Friday evening.
The accused have been identified as RPO Anup Singh and two APOs Hari Om and Sanjay Srivastav. During the raids, the CBI recovered ₹20 lakh.
A CBI spokesperson said they received a complaint from a Jalandhar resident in which the complainant alleged that he had applied for fresh passports of his granddaughter and grandson.
“When the complainant met one of the two accused APOs to check the status of the two passports, the accused demanded a bribe of ₹25,000. It was further alleged that the accused informed the complainant that the bribe amount was being accepted on the directions of the RPO and another APO and the same was shared between them,” the investigation agency stated.
Based on the complaint, the CBI laid a trap and apprehended accused APO Hari Om red-handed while accepting the bribe. The CBI official said RPO Anup Singh and APO Sanjay were arrested later.
“Searches were conducted at residential and office premises of the accused persons. Nearly ₹20 lakh and incriminating documents have been seized so far. Further investigation is on,” an official said.
Seechewal had written to EAM on Feb 8 against officers
As per available information, the officers posted at the regional passport office have been on radar for the past six months as several complaints of alleged gross negligence and corruption were filed against them with the ministry of external affairs.
Even Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Singh Seechewal had written to the external affairs ministry on February 8 and submitted multiple complaints against passports officers for harassing people for issuing passports.
In the complaint, Seechewal alleged that people were being forced to get their work done through agents, who were charging hefty fees from gullible persons to clear objections before issuance of their passports.
Meanwhile, an official privy to an investigation revealed that the accused were working in connivance with the travel agents allegedly involved in human trafficking.
“There were multiple stances in which it came to the fore that the passports were issued within a day after the applicants paid the bribe,” an official said.
