Faraz Sheikh. Bhopal8 hours ago
Investigation into the case of Indian passports being obtained in Madhya Pradesh on the basis of forged documents has now expanded from Dabra to Bhopal. The STF claims that the same address-Ashok Buddha Vihar Math in Bhopal’s Govindpura area-was used to obtain around 40 passports. The investigating agency is now trying to find out how police verification was conducted for such a large number of passports.
To investigate the STF’s claim, the Dainik Bhaskar team visited Ashok Buddha Vihar Math. There, Bhaskar met Bhante Kashyap Anand. He said he had no information about fake passports being made using the math’s address. According to him, neither has the STF team visited the math for an investigation nor has any investigating agency questioned him in connection with the case.
First, take a look at the pictures…
Road adjoining Anna Nagar leads directly inside the monastery
Monastery gate is visible from a distance
There are arrangements like this inside the monastery
Boundary wall of Ashoka Buddha Vihar
Bhante says, ‘I came to the monastery only two days ago’
Bhante Kashyap Anand said that he is originally from Rajasthan and arrived at the monastery only about two days ago. He said that since his arrival, neither the STF team nor any other investigating agency had come here or contacted him regarding the fake passport case.
He said that he also has no information about whether anyone’s passport was issued using the monastery’s address. He has not received any information about any action taken by the STF either.
Bhante Kashyap Anand of the Buddhist monastery
‘I don’t remember anyone coming for police verification’
According to Bhante Kashyap Anand, if someone had applied for a passport by providing the monastery’s address, the address should have been verified by the police as per the rules. However, to his knowledge, the police never came to the monastery for passport verification.
He also said that he often goes outside the monastery for meals. Therefore, he cannot completely rule out the possibility that a team may have visited in his absence. However, no one else present at the monastery informed him about the arrival of the police or the STF.
‘No investigating agency provided any information’
Bhante said that so far, no investigating agency has provided him with any information regarding the fake passport case. He also does not know on what basis the monastery’s address emerged in the STF investigation.
This raises the most important question in the case-if, as claimed by the STF, more than 40 passports were issued from the same address, at what level were these applications investigated and verified?
STF working to identify the lapse
The STF has already said that the role of police verification in the case will also be investigated. The agency is trying to determine whether there was a lapse in the verification process despite so many passports being issued from the same address, or whether the rules were deliberately ignored.
Network uncovered in Dabra, investigation reaches Bhopal
The STF investigation began with the address of a Buddhist monastery located at Simariya Tekri in Dabra. Information emerged that 20 to 22 passports had been issued from the same address.
As the investigation progressed, information surfaced about around 70 suspected passports being made using different addresses in Madhya Pradesh. According to the STF, 22 of these have been confirmed, while the investigation into the rest is ongoing.
The investigation revealed the use of forged Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, residential certificates, Class 10 mark sheets, and other documents. The STF has also investigated whether some passport holders adopted a Buddhist identity to have documents prepared as Indian citizens.
2 accused arrested, connections with other states also uncovered
In the case, the STF arrested Riyal Chaudhary and Biplab Adhikari. According to the STF, Riyal had acted as a witness on several passports. The investigation also revealed that four passports had been issued in his name. The two accused are reportedly connected to Assam and other states. The STF is also investigating the possibility of an international network.
Now the investigation trail will be connected
There currently appears to be a discrepancy between the STF’s claim that more than 40 passports were made using the address of the Ashok Buddha Vihar monastery in Bhopal and the statement of the monastery’s current monk.
On one hand, the STF says that these passports are under investigation. On the other hand, the monk says that he has no information about any fake passports, nor did the police or STF visit him for verification. The investigation will now examine the entire chain, from the passport application and police verification to the issuance of the passport.
This will make it clear who provided the monastery’s address, who prepared the documents, who verified the applicants, and whether there was any lapse in the process that led to such a large number of passports being issued from the same address.
