{
  "id": 7353523,
  "title": "Fake Passport Racket Probe Reveals 4 Arrested Suspects Have Bangladeshi Roots; 25 Officials Under Scanner In Bhopal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/fake-passport-racket-probe-reveals-4-arrested-suspects-have",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-14T15:48:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/bhopal/fake-passport-racket-probe-reveals-4-arrested-suspects-have-bangladeshi-roots-25-officials-under-scanner-in-bhopal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh - The Special Task Force (STF) special probe into the fake passport racket has resulted in the arrest of four suspects, all of whom have ties to Bangladesh, local officials revealed on Monday. On September 7, the STF dismantled a fraudulent passport operation that had been operating since 2021. The majority of these fraudulent passports were issued in the names of Assam residents, who had sneaked into the state illicitly and assumed new identities.\n\nAmong the four arrested are mastermind Riyal Chaudhary, Jai Chaudhary Barua, Priyan Rai, who was apprehended in Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra, and Biplab Adhikari, who was detained in South Delhi. A manhunt is ongoing for eight other individuals, with separate STF teams conducting raids across various districts.\n\nMoreover, an investigation by the STF has cast suspicion on 25 police officials and employees from departments in Bhopal, Gwalior, Chhindwara, Pandhurna, and Betul. These officials are currently under scrutiny by the STF, with raids underway to uncover their alleged involvement. The STF uncovered that the fake passport scheme in Dabra, Gwalior district, began in 2021 and yielded a total of 70 passports, including 40 in Bhopal, 17 in Dabra, 11 in Betul, and one each in Chhindwara and Pandhurna. However, there are likely additional undocumented passports yet to be discovered.\n\nDespite the focus on Madhya Pradesh, the STF has also deployed five teams to conduct raids across other states to uncover any potential links to the fake passport racket. Over the past five years, the matter has been reported to multiple departments and police stations, linked to the fraudulent creation of Indian documents and passport verification. Two or three documents belonging to various suspects have also been unearthed during the course of the investigation.",
  "summary": "Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The preliminary investigation carried out by the Special Task Force (STF) into the fake passport case has revealed that the four arrested suspects have roots in Bangladesh, officials said here on Monday. On September 7, the STF busted a racket involved in preparing passports on fake documents. Most passports were prepared in the names of people who are residents of Assam.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}