NEW DELHI: According to senior officials, searches are underway at around 50 locations, including Kolkata, Gangtok, Siliguri, and other locations since last evening. A senior superintendent of Passport Seva Laghu Kendras (PSLK) in Siliguri, along with a middleman, has been apprehended.

CBI dismantled a fake passport racket operating in West Bengal and Sikkim and registered a case against 24 persons, including officials, on Saturday. According to senior officials, searches are underway at around 50 locations, including Kolkata, Gangtok, Siliguri, and other locations since last evening. A senior superintendent of Passport Seva Laghu Kendras (PSLK) in Siliguri, along with a middleman, has been apprehended.

A CBI team got verified information that a certain private person with the help of government officials is part of a network that helps in getting passports issued on forged papers. "Searches are underway, and many suspects are under the radar. We have recovered documents pertaining to the involvement of government officials in the racket," the official said.