5 Afghans held for securing passports on fake Jabalpur addresses:₹ 2.5 lakh paid per document, says MP Anti-Terrorist Squad

The Madhya Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested five Afghan nationals from Kolkata for allegedly obtaining Indian passports using fake addresses and forged documents. The accused were produced before a special court in Jabalpur on Sunday and remanded to ATS custody till February 25 for further questioning. Accused entered India in 2018–19, some illegally The arrested persons have been identified as Zia Ul Rahman, Sultan Mohammad, Raza Khan, Syed Mohammad and Zafar Khan. According to ATS officials, all five reached Kolkata via Delhi from Kabul between 2018 and 2019. Officials said Sultan Mohammad had entered India on a medical visa, while the remaining four had entered the country illegally. During interrogation, ATS found that the accused had allegedly paid around Rs 2 to Rs 2.5 lakh each to Sohbat Khan, the alleged mastermind based in Jabalpur, to obtain Indian passports fraudulently. Fake addresses used to obtain passports Investigators said the accused used fake residential addresses in Jabalpur, including locations in Motinala Pond Sadar, Uprainganj and Chhoti Omti, to apply for passports. Based on these forged documents, passport applications were processed and verification was completed. Officials said four of the five accused had obtained passports. Of these, three passports have been seized by ATS, while one was returned to the passport office due to incorrect address details. Investigation began after AK-47 photo surfaced online The case came to light after Sohbat Khan allegedly posted a photograph of himself holding an AK-47 rifle on social media. This prompted ATS to launch an investigation, leading to his arrest in August 2025. During questioning, ATS uncovered a larger network involved in preparing fake documents and helping foreign nationals obtain Indian passports illegally. Officials said Sohbat Khan had entered India through West Bengal in 2015 and later moved to Jabalpur via Bhopal. He married a local woman in Jabalpur and had been living there for nearly a decade while working private jobs. Gang prepared fake documents with help from local associates According to ATS, Sohbat Khan initially arranged a passport for another Afghan national, Akbar, by charging around Rs 2 to Rs 2.5 lakh. His associates allegedly created fake identity and residence documents using forged Jabalpur addresses. Akbar later completed the verification process at a Passport Seva Kendra in Jabalpur. After the passport was issued, gang members allegedly paid a postman Rs 3,000 to collect the passport before delivery. Total 11 arrested so far, probe into wider network continues In August 2025, ATS had arrested several other accused linked to the racket, including Kolkata residents Mohammad Iqbal and Akbar, alleged advocate Chandan Singh from Jabalpur, forest department employee Dinesh Garg and Mahendra Kumar Sukhdan. ATS officials said these accused helped prepare forged documents and facilitated the passport process. With the arrest of the five Afghan nationals, the total number of arrests in the case has reached 11. ATS said further investigation is underway to identify other foreign nationals who may have obtained passports illegally and to uncover the full extent of the network