Fake passports, hidden faces: Kolkata’s hunt for 69 Bangladeshis

A shadowy web of forged Indian passports has Kolkata Police on edge, chasing 69 Bangladeshi nationals they say duped the system with fake documents. 

Some have slipped abroad; others lurk in the shadows. 

Now, a “lookout notice” looms—applied for with India’s Immigration Department—to snare them wherever they hide, turning every border into a tripwire back to Lalbazar headquarters.  

It began late last year, after August 5 political changeover in Bangladesh, when a tip landed at Bhabanipur police station: Bangladeshis were wielding Indian passports, built on lies. 

Kolkata Police pounced, unearthing a racket that’s since nabbed 10 suspects—including a retired district intelligence officer and a Bangladeshi operative. 

From there, the numbers spilled out: 121 fake applications at Kolkata’s regional passport office, 73 passports issued, and 20 holders already overseas. The rest? “Hiding,” Lalbazar sources say, eyes narrowing on the 69 still in their sights.  

A lookout notice is not just paperwork—it is a global net. “If it’s issued, they’re trapped,” a police insider told Jago News. “No flight, no border crossing—any move pings us instantly.” 

The 69 named are Bangladeshi nationals, their Indian identities a sham. 

Some, police suspect, have fled to distant shores; others hunker down, betting on evasion. Kolkata’s cops aren’t blinking—every lead’s a lifeline to bust the ring wide open.