NEW DELHI, 22 February 2004 — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) yesterday said that some of the staff members at the Consulate General of India in Birmingham, England, were involved in issuing 600 passports to Indian immigrants on the basis of fake documents.
CBI sources said the investigating team, presently in England, has found involvement of some of the officials of the consulate in the fake passport racket. Preliminary investigations revealed that on the basis of photocopies of some passports, the staff had issued 600 passports to Indian immigrants in England between January and October 2002.
The fake passports had allegedly facilitated human trafficking from India to England. The culprits had applied for fresh passports forging the name and putting another photo while photocopying an original passport. On the basis of the photocopies, the authorities had allegedly issued genuine passports.
However, the team is yet to submit its final report to higher authorities at the headquarters here.
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York by terrorists, British authorities had informed the Indian government about the racket. The Indian government had assigned the CBI to look into the matter restricting its inquiry to verifying the records with the High Commission at London and Consulate General in Birmingham.
