In the heart of New Delhi, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended a trio of officials stationed at the Regional Passport Office in Jalandhar, embroiled in an alleged bribery imbroglio concerning passport issuance.
The individuals in question bear the names Hari Om (Assistant Passport Officer), who finds mention in the FIR, Anup Singh (Regional Passport Officer), and Sanjay Srivastava (Assistant Passport Officer). This trinity of accused figures holds assignments at the Regional Passport Office, Jalandhar, as asserted by a spokesperson from the CBI.
Intensive searches are presently underway at both the residential and official abodes of the implicated trio. The Central investigative agency asserts the confiscation of approximately Rs 20 lakh in cash and the unearthing of incriminating documents thus far.
A case has been formally registered by the CBI against an Assistant Passport Officer (APO) based on a filed complaint. The aggrieved party contends that he submitted applications for fresh passports on behalf of his granddaughter and grandson.
Upon seeking an update on the passport statuses from the accused APO, the complainant alleges that a bribe of Rs 25,000 was solicited for the expeditious issuance of the passports.
Furthermore, it is purported that the accused disclosed the involvement of the Regional Passport Officer and another Assistant Passport Officer, asserting that the bribe was sanctioned by them and subsequently shared among them, as detailed by a CBI official.
In a tactical move, the CBI laid a trap, apprehending the implicated APO red-handed while soliciting and accepting the alleged bribe of Rs 25,000. Subsequently, both the RPO and another APO from the Regional Passport Office in Jalandhar were also apprehended. The ongoing investigation is unfolding, according to the official statement.
