The CBI is conducting searches at 50 locations in West Bengal and Gangtok having booked 24 persons including government officials and private individuals for allegedly issuing passports on the basis of forged documents, officials said Saturday.

The CBI has detained an official posted in Gangtok and also a middleman, they said.

The FIR names 24 individuals including 16 officials who were allegedly issuing passports on the basis of forged documents to ineligible persons, including non-residents, in return for bribes, they said.

The searches are spread across Calcutta, Siliguri, Gangtok, and other locations, they said.

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