Chennai: The CBI has registered a case against a Senior Superintendent in the Regional Passport Office in Madurai who was allegedly issuing Indian passports to foreign nationals, including Sri Lankans, brought by travel agents.
According to the CBI, the official allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with one S Ramesh, listed as second accused in its FIR, and other unknown persons operating as travel agents in Madurai in 2019-20.
The agency said Veeraputhiran demanded and accepted undue pecuniary advantage for fraudulent issuance of Indian passports to Sri Lankans and others who were not otherwise eligible.
The CBI said the Passport official knew very well that the persons brought by the travel agents were not eligible for Indian passport, as they were not citizens of the country. However, he still went ahead and issued them the document after collecting money through the agents.
‘In pursuance of the conspiracy, Veeraputhiran, while posted as granting officer at Passport Seva Kendra, Tirunelveli, fraudulently issued Indian passports to Sri Lankans and other ineligible people in return for pecuniary benefits from the travel agents,’ the CBI FIR alleged.
The agency has found that he had demanded and accepted an amount of Rs 45,000 from Ramesh which was deposited in Veeraputhiranās savings account.