The Enforcement Directorate has detained a West Bengal resident for allegedly assisting a Pakistani operative in obtaining Indian passports for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants across 250 cases.
Indubhushan Haldar, also known as Dullal, was taken into custody on October 13 in Kolkata. He hails from Chakdah village in Nadia district, situated close to the India-Bangladesh international border, the agency said.
The primary accused is a Pakistani national, Azad Hussain, also known as Ajad Mallik or Ahammed Hossain Azad, who was arrested in April and remains in judicial custody. Hussain had reportedly been living in India under a false identity and was involved in fraudulently securing Indian identity documents for Bangladeshi nationals in exchange for money, according to the ED.
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Hussain is said to have referred clients seeking Indian passports to Haldar, who allegedly prepared forged documents to facilitate the illegal applications. “Haldar played a pivotal role in facilitating the issuance of Indian passports for Bangladeshi nationals. By making forged documents for passport applications, Haldar generated proceeds of crime…,” the ED stated.
The agency confirmed that Haldar was involved in approximately 250 cases of illegal documentation. A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata, as well as the Calcutta High Court, had rejected his anticipatory bail petition.
Azad Hussain had been listed in a charge sheet by the ED in June, marking a significant step in dismantling the cross-border passport fraud network.
The Enforcement Directorate continues to probe the matter, highlighting the persistent challenge of illegal immigration and identity fraud along India’s eastern border.
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