Introduction of computerized system of producing passport narrowed down the scope of corruption but a section of officials at Agargaon passport office is still out on the prowl for passport seekers to make a quick buck.
Those who, somehow, obtained their passports without hassles expressed satisfaction with the process of application and delivery of a machine-readable passport (MRP), a project run by the army.
Others, however, complained of harassment by the officials at the passport office and said they did not receive their passports on due dates.
Officials of different sections of the passport office, including the records section, have laid the trap through their notorious nexus for innocent people to walk into it very easily, said an insider preferring anonymity.
The gang is still out to find easy prey and make money through as many possible ways as they can. The agents of the officials offer to make passports quickly on contractual basis while many officials remain busy setting traps for those who already have passports.
Aminur Rahman, a businessperson who got his old passport renewed a few years ago and has applied for a machine-readable one recently, said he had to pay the renewal fee twice as his passport number was not on the official register.
The officials of the records section rather blamed Aminur for his suffering.
“I got it renewed by an agent. But the truth is I myself deposited the money in the bank and received the passport after renewal,” Aminur claimed. “These people gobbled up my money.”
A student of Dhaka University, who got a scholarship in a foreign university, also made a similar allegation.
The student said the documents related to the renewal of his passport also went missing but those were available within few minutes after an army officer working at the MRP project called Md Fazlul Haque, deputy director of the divisional passport and visa office.
“I went to the army officer and informed him about my problem as the guys at the records section treated me badly. They were rude,” he added.
Preferring anonymity, an official said the employees of the records section in connivance with a section of bank officials might have hid the bank documents and gobbled up the money deposited as renewal fee.
The corrupt officials cannot even tolerate the presence of army at the passport office as the MRP project stands in their dishonest way of making money, he added.
Abu Yazid, a worker who wishes to go abroad, said two officials — Sukumar and Shajahan – took Tk 1, 500 from him promising they would deliver his passport one week before the date.
“I haven’t obtained my passport yet,” he said.
Contacted by daily sun, Deputy Director Md Fazlul Haque of the passport office defended his colleagues saying there is no chance to hide documents.
Brigadier General Brig Gen Reyaet Ullah, director of the MRP project, said there are widespread allegations against the officials of the passport office but he had nothing to do with them since the sections are not under his jurisdiction.
“We are responsible only for the problem relating to machine-readable passports and people are satisfied with our services,” he said.
Note: The report was partly published on daily sun
http://www.daily-sun.com/?view=details&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=186&cat_id=1&menu_id=9&news_type_id=1&index=0
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