The fake document menace is a ‘big concern’ for the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Bengaluru as well. Officials said 2016 has just begun, but close to 20 criminal cases had been booked for submission of fake documents.
The dizzying number of applications adds to the problem. The Bengaluru RPO issued over six lakh passports in 2015. An official pointed out that even if 0.5 per cent of the applicants had produced fake documents, it would add up to over 3,000.
“Submission of any fake document will invite serious consequences, including criminal cases besides denial of passport,” said Regional Passport Officer P.S. Karthigeyan said. It is an offence under the Passport Act of 1967 as well.
However, the catch is the presence of intermediaries. “In many cases, the applicants would not even be aware who these people are. They will have a name and a mobile number. If a fake document is presented, we penalise the applicant and not the agent,” passport officials explained.
Data integrationHowever, measures to integrate the online data for a few integral documents have eased the process to an extent. The Aadhaar database has been integrated into the system. Work on databases of PAN cards and voter identity cards is in the pipeline.
“Frauds usually come to light at the second stage – document verification. But post-integration, we can instantly verify details related to these documents,” Mr. Karthigeyan said.
