Overview

• Six individuals including alleged mastermind Sohbat Khan are in MP ATS custody following arrests in Jabalpur and West Bengal
• Khan’s interrogation revealed that a place of worship in Akola served as a covert meeting point for Afghan nationals
• The network relied on forged residential proofs, birth certificates and manipulated Aadhaar records to obtain multiple Indian identity documents
• Authorities confirm at least three passports have been issued through the racket and are probing 15–17 additional applications
• Investigators exposed a scheme of bribing postal workers to intercept passports during delivery and are mapping out distribution channels