Khardah businessman under Enforcement Directorate lens in fake passport probe

Kolkata: A businessman from Khardah has come under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the ongoing fake passport case, after investigators found that he had travelled to Bangkok nearly 900 times over the past 10 years.

The revelation came as the ED carried out raids at multiple locations across Bengal on Monday as part of its probe. One of the raids was conducted at a shop near the Passport Seva Kendra along EM Bypass, where officials suspect online passport applications were being illegally processed. Several documents were seized, and computer systems used for the alleged operations were examined.

Simultaneously, another team raided the Chakdah residence of a carpenter, Biplab Sarkar, in Nadia district. After several hours of search, the agency detained three persons, including Sarkar, for questioning.

During further investigation, officials came across Vinod Gupta, a Khardah-based businessman, who had undertaken an unusually high number of foreign trips—around 900 visits to Bangkok in a decade. Summoned for questioning on Tuesday, Gupta reportedly told investigators that he was in the spice trade, which required frequent travel abroad. However, ED officials remain unconvinced, as Gupta is also allegedly involved in forex trading. The agency is now probing whether his trips were linked to illegal financial transactions.

The fake passport racket was first unearthed last year after inputs from the Regional Passport Office (RPO). The case, initially investigated by the Kolkata Police, led to the arrest of several individuals, including an India Post employee. The ED later took over the probe and arrested Azad Hussain alias Ajad Mallik alias Ahammed Hossain Azad, who was found to be a Pakistani national.