Youth nabbed for arranging Indian passport for Bangladeshi woman

The Salanpur police station under the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC) has arrested a youth, identified as Choton Sen, for allegedly arranging an Indian passport for a Bangladeshi woman using forged documents.

The incident has created a major stir in the industrial belt, especially as it has come to light during the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) across the state.

Advertisement

Police sources said Choton Sen, a resident of the Dendua area near Asansol, was arrested for fabricating documents to obtain a passport for a Bangladeshi woman, Moyna Sen, who had been residing in the Lachipur red-light area.

Investigations revealed that Choton was not involved in any criminal case but had allegedly arranged passports using fake documents for several individuals.

The matter came to light during police verification of the passport application sent by the Regional Passport Office in Kolkata.

“We have produced him before the Asansol court and sought police custody for further investigation,” said ADPC Commissioner of Police Sunil Kumar Choudhary.

According to police sources, Moyna, a sex worker in the Lachipur red-light area, was in a relationship with Choton, who is married and has two children. Choton allegedly used the documents of his uncle, Utpal Sen, and fabricated records showing Moyna as Utpal Sen’s daughter in order to apply for her passport.

During police verification, the investigating officer of the Special Branch of ADPC found that Utpal Sen has two daughters, but Moyna was not one of them. Further scrutiny confirmed that all the documents submitted were forged.

Following this, an FIR was lodged at Salanpur Police Station by ADPC investigating officer Supratik Pal. Subsequent investigation established that the forgery was allegedly masterminded by Choton Sen.

The incident has also gained political significance during the ongoing SIR process. A large number of voters in the Lachipur red-light area of Kulti reportedly did not collect enumeration forms, triggering a sharp political debate between the ruling party and the BJP.

Sources said that during the first phase of the SIR exercise, nearly 20 per cent of voters were found to have completely disappeared, while another 20 per cent had either shifted residences or could not be traced at their recorded addresses by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).