Bidhannagar cops make body cams, CCTV must for passport verification
Kolkata: Aimed at enhancing transparency and security in the passport verification process, Bidhannagar City Police has made it mandatory for all passport verifications to be conducted under camera surveillance — either through body cams during home visits or CCTV systems in police stations — from this month.
The move comes at a time when Kolkata Police is investigating a fake passport racket and have arrested a retired sub-inspector for allegedly clearing applications without proper enquiry and adequate verification. Officers said the move will also help them reduce complaints from residents about officers, civic volunteers and middlemen demanding money or harassing applicants in the name of additional documentation.
"Now, all passport verifications are being conducted under body camera surveillance. In the case of home verification, only representatives from the Special Branch are visiting the houses of applicants, and the entire process is being recorded. The footage is being stored until the passport is issued. At police stations, the passport verification process is being conducted strictly under CCTV monitoring with audio recording," said Tauseef Ali Azhar, ADCP SB of Bidhannagar City Police.
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"Whenever we receive specific complaints, we take strict action with zero tolerance. In several instances, we initiated departmental enquiries and took disciplinary action against the officers concerned."
The officer added that since May, during passport verification at home, police station, or office, an OTP-based Aadhaar verification system has been introduced through an internal app. "This has made the process more accurate and transparent.
The passport verification now undergoes four-five layers of scrutiny — from the verifying officer to the local IC to the police commissioner — ensuring greater accountability," he said.
The initiative gains significance in light of a racket that allegedly used forged identity documents to secure genuine Indian passports. The case came to light last Sept when the Kolkata Regional Passport Office flagged nearly 240 suspicious passports issued on the basis of faulty documents. A special probe team of Kolkata Police was formed to investigate the scam, and a charge sheet was submitted in March. Investigators found that police allegedly failed to detect forged documents during verification.
On Tuesday, ED carried out raids at multiple locations across Kolkata and its surrounding districts as part of the wider investigation.
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