Passport officer, two others held for graft
Jalandhar, February 16
The CBI on Friday arrested Regional Passport Officer (RPO) and two Assistant Passport Officers (APOs) in a bribery case.
APO demanded Rs 25,000
- The complainant had alleged that when he met Assistant Passport Officer (APO) Hari Om to check the status of the two passports of his relatives, the accused demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000
- He informed the complainant that the bribe amount was sought on the directions of RPO Anup Singh and another APO Sanjay Srivastava and the amount would be shared among them
- The CBI laid a trap and caught Hari Om red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000
Two teams of the CBI arrived in the office of the RPO this morning. They laid a trap following a complaint by a man who had applied for fresh passports for his granddaughter and grandson. The complainant had alleged that when he met APO Hari Om to check the status of the two passports, the accused demanded a bribe of Rs 25,000. He informed the complainant that the bribe amount was sought on the directions of RPO Anup Singh and another APO Sanjay Srivastava and the amount would be shared among them.
The CBI laid a trap and caught Hari Om red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 25,000. Subsequently, the RPO and second APO were also apprehended. The CBI has lodged a case against them. They then conducted searches at their residential and office premises. An amount of Rs 20 lakh and incriminating documents were also seized from them.
There were reportedly several complaints against the RPO regarding harassment consumers were facing while applying for a fresh passport, renewal, change of name, etc. Since applicants were not being properly guided and facing rejections and delays, they had to follow the agent route and had to shell out a huge amount to get work done.
Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Seechewal and Jalandhar-based RTI activist Gaurav Luthra had also written to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. They had even sent proofs of the role of agents with their complaints.
