Tackling murky MRPs
Unfortunately,
the aberration at the passport office is but a reflection of a
profoundly decayed social order, where almost everything is available for the right price to the wrong people
The core reasons for replacing old passports with machine readable ones were to ensure authenticity of the passport holder and prevent misuse of the mandatory travel book. Before MRPs, the Bangladesh passport had a dubious distinction for being prone to multiple illegal usages, ranging from totally fake books to ones which were tampered with.
The MRP came with the slogan to end all the dodgy deals and bring about some respectability to the Bangladeshi citizen travelling abroad. However, the latest report shows that the tentacles of shady operations have already overtaken the new system with evidence proving one person to have several passports under different names. It has transpired that three different passports were used by one national to travel to Bahrain under three different identities. A smuggler called Mamum Mia has come under spotlight for using separate names to travel, most probably to facilitate his unlawful business.
Stands to reason, if there is one such person using different names then there are many others. The finger definitely points at the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) which has allowed underhand dealings linked to the obtaining of several MRPs.
We find the authority has woken up, terminating the jobs of certain officials who were reportedly issuing passports based on fake No Objection Certificates. Such a firm move is welcome. However, at a time when Bangladesh is still reeling from the heinous extremist attack in July, all activities related to the issuance of passports must be dealt with the utmost sincerity. One person with multiple travel books can easily engage in a variety of unlawful activities, the most feared, being involvement in a terror plot.
With the current government taking a hard-line position in dealing with all radical elements, bringing the passport office under close scrutiny is now essential.
In a majority of cases, false passports are used by people dealing in contraband; however, with a totally new identity, anyone can completely change into a different person unquestionably, an alluring prospect for modern day criminals involved in credit card plus other financial fraud.
Practically speaking, irrespective of what steps are taken, some nefarious groups will always find a loophole or a gap in the system. Therefore, we suggest passport offices to be inspected at regular intervals and the placement of CCTVs.
Also, the current racket has to be identified from the top leaders to the dodgy middlemen. Unfortunately, the aberration at the passport office is but a reflection of a profoundly decayed social order, where almost everything is available for the right price to the wrong people.
