A man who claimed to be a law clerk at the Barasat court was arrested early on Wednesday for allegedly helping a section of Bangladeshi nationals get fake Aadhaar cards and other identity documents.

Samir Das was arrested after police found he was involved in a racket that issued passports to several persons with forged identities across North 24-Parganas.

“The accused used to cater to a section of Bangladeshi nationals visiting Calcutta for health check-ups. There were separate rate charts
for different kinds of jobs, including preparing fake Aadhaar cards and other identity documents,” said a senior officer at Barasat police
station.

A resident of Nabapally in Barasat, Das allegedly received orders from his contacts across the border to prepare the identity documents required for applying for
an Indian passport. The alleged deal was that Das would get the documents ready by the time the visitors would wrap up their Calcutta stay, officers said.

The Aadhaar number would be original but the name and the photograph on the card would be of another person, they said.

“The amount would vary between ₹2,000 and ₹3,000 depending on the type of document that was required,” an officer said.

“A birth certificate would cost several times more.”

A special investigation team of Kolkata Police has been investigating an alleged racket to provide Indian passports fraudulently.

The probe was initiated after the Calcutta passport office raised an alarm after it found that around 240 passports had been issued based on faulty documents.

More than 10 people, including a retired sub-inspector of Kolkata Police, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in providing such passports fraudulently.

During an internal scrutiny, the passport office came across discrepancies in the identity documents submitted with 240-odd passports applications. The police had apparently failed to identify the faulty documents.

Officers said they would interrogate Das to find out if he would bring clients to Manoj Gupta and Samaresh Biswas, the alleged masterminds of the racket, for a commission.

Several soft copies of fake Aadhaar cards were found with Das, officers said. The cops will scan them to find the original applicants.