📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Ms Sarah Welch
Crime
Around 40 Fake Passports Issued Using a Bhopal Monastery Address, STF Probes 70 Holders
✍️ Amar Ujala · Madhya Pradesh
🗓 11 Sep 2026, 12:32 PM
👁 24
Investigators have uncovered that roughly 40 passports were fraudulently obtained using the address of a single monastery in Bhopal, prompting the Special Task Force to verify the identities of 70 applicants.
The Special Task Force (STF) in Madhya Pradesh has identified a cluster of fake passport applications that all cite the same monastery address in Bhopal. Preliminary findings indicate that about 40 passports were processed using this single location as a false residential proof.
According to the investigation, the fraudulent documents were submitted to passport offices, where the monastery’s address was presented as the applicant’s domicile. The scheme appears to have been coordinated to bypass standard verification, allowing the holders to travel abroad on counterfeit passports.
STF officials are now scrutinising the records of approximately 70 individuals linked to the case. The agency is cross‑checking identity proofs, travel histories and police verification reports to determine the extent of the fraud and to identify any accomplices.
Authorities have raised concerns over the reliability of police verification in such cases, noting that the misuse of a religious institution’s address points to gaps in the current vetting process. The investigation remains ongoing, and those found guilty could face stringent legal action under the Indian Passport Act.
According to the investigation, the fraudulent documents were submitted to passport offices, where the monastery’s address was presented as the applicant’s domicile. The scheme appears to have been coordinated to bypass standard verification, allowing the holders to travel abroad on counterfeit passports.
STF officials are now scrutinising the records of approximately 70 individuals linked to the case. The agency is cross‑checking identity proofs, travel histories and police verification reports to determine the extent of the fraud and to identify any accomplices.
Authorities have raised concerns over the reliability of police verification in such cases, noting that the misuse of a religious institution’s address points to gaps in the current vetting process. The investigation remains ongoing, and those found guilty could face stringent legal action under the Indian Passport Act.