Fake Passport Racket: One Pakistani Arrested from Birati

SNS, KOLKATA, 29 APRIL 2025 ;  Azad Mullick, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from Birati in North 24-Parganas district in the middle of this month in connection with the fake passport racket scam, is a Pakistani national, said officials. The central investigating agency claimed, on Tuesday, that this revelation came at a time when India alleged "cross-border linkages" to the Pahalgam terror attack and promised the harshest punishment for those responsible.

During the hearing of the fake passport scam case at Bichar Bhawan, the ED officials stated that Mullick is not a Bangladeshi as he had originally claimed. While interrogating him in custody, the officials learned that he is actually a Pakistani national. He had been posing as a Bangladeshi to keep his original Pakistani identity secret.

The ED's lawyer claimed in court that Mullick entered India through Bangladesh about 10-12 years ago and tried to obtain an Indian visa using his fake identity. The accused had also made two voter ID cards and several driving licenses, the lawyer said.

Mullick, who was known as Ahmed Hossain in Bangladesh, was also referred to as Azad Hossain in Pakistan, the lawyer informed the court. The investigating agency is also verifying whether Mullick is involved in any anti-India activities, and his bank account is being scrutinized, the lawyer added.

Following the ED's appeal, the court granted the investigating agency permission to take Mullick into custody again until 8 May. Meanwhile, the ED has started investigating a money-laundering angle in the fake passport racket case, with some leads suggesting that the proceeds of the crime were sent to Bangladesh through the hawala route.

According to ED sources, there are "indications" that the racket operated primarily out of West Bengal, with its network extending well into Bangladesh. The investigating officials have identified an alleged "two-layer" inflow of large sums of money into the racket, which involved the illegal entry of Bangladeshi nationals into India and the creation of fake Indian identity documents for them.

Two key accused individuals—Indian national Alok Nath and Azad Mullick, who had claimed to be Bangladeshi—were arrested from different locations in West Bengal this month. Azad, who ran Mullick Trading Corporation, allegedly obtained fake Indian identity documents, including a passport, and was reportedly "operating a hawala syndicate" from his residence in Kolkata.