News in Brief

Officials Involved in Passport Scam

The government of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu has disclosed that the probe into a passport racket has revealed the involvement of 41 people, including police and passport officials.

The case was being probed by the Madurai division of the state police’s Q Branch, which deals with extremist activities, after it received information that some Sri Lankan nationals were trying to obtain Indian passports to travel abroad.

A probe into procurement of passports by submitting fake documents revealed the involvement of 41 people, including five police officials, 14 zonal passport officers and two postal department employees, it said.

So far, a total of 15 people – 4 Sri Lankan Tamils and 11 travel agents – have been arrested in connection with the case.