A local court on Thursday recorded statements of 10 people, including two deputy superintendents of police (DSPs) Harbans Singh and Gurdarshan Singh in the 2008 passport scandal here.
A total of 80 people were summoned in the case, out of which 13 appeared on Thursday in the court of additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) Sanjita Saluja.
After recording their statements, the court fixed the next hearing in the case on March 17.
The scam rocked the district on July 13, 2008 when it was found that around 400 fake passports had been issued to local residents in connivance with officers of the Punjab Police, post office and the local passport office.
A case had been registered under sections 218 (Public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture), 420 (Cheating), 465 (Punishment for forgery), 467 ( Forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 9Forgery for purpose of cheating.), 471 (Using as genuine a forged document), 472 (Making or possessing counterfeit seal, etc), 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 12B of the Passport Act at the police station here.
The police had sent a list of the accused to all airports in the country and several accused, who landed from other nations, had already been caught at Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Amritsar airports.
{{/usCountry}}The police had sent a list of the accused to all airports in the country and several accused, who landed from other nations, had already been caught at Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Amritsar airports.
{{/usCountry}}More than 14 travel agencies from Moga, Ludhiana and Chandigarh are allegedly involved in the scam.