CBI raids residence of passport officials at Kochi

CBI raids residence of passport officials at Kochi By Indo-Asian News Service on Friday, October 3, 2008
Filed Under: Latest India News

Officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the homes of two officials attached to the passport office here.

Speaking to IANS Friday, G. Raveendran, regional passport officer at Kochi confirmed that the residences of the officials had been raided earlier this week.

"Today (Friday) I spoke to the two officials, an assistant and an upper division clerk, whose homes were raided. The CBI is yet to get in touch with me and I do not know the reason behind the CBI action," said Raveendran.

According to media reports, CBI went ahead with the investigation after they discovered a racket in Kochi which included passport officials and travel agents who provided passport to those with unverified backgrounds.

There have been allegations against the officials and the travel agents that they have given a second passport to people whose first passport was endorsed with certain crimes.

On paying bribe, such people managed to obtain a second passport after claiming that their first passport was lost.

Raveendran, however, said that the passport office operates on prescribed laws. He pointed out that according to present rules, a passport is issued under the tatkal scheme without a police verification report.

"There have been instances when we have impounded the passports issued under this scheme after it was found out from the police report that the concerned person does not have a clean track record," Raveendran said.

"The CBI is an independent agency and they are doing their job," said Raveendran when asked about the raid.

Kerala is the only state in the country that has four passport offices and this is because more than two million Keralites work abroad.

On an average, every day more than 1500 passports are issued from the four passport offices in the state.

Meanwhile, reports indicate that the CBI is going ahead with the investigation and would soon arrive at the other three passport offices in the state also.