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Brokers allure passport seekers, cops abet them

SHAMIM ASHRAF
Tip-hungry brokers and bank officials face almost no legal action for extracting money from passport applicants for so-called assistance, as officials of the Passport Bhaban and law enforcers abet them.
A group of brokers mills around the passport office in Agargaon all day long to allure people into their "help trap" and boasts of their links to the Special Branch for quick verification of passport applications.
"We will do everything for you except paying the fees and you will get your passport in much less time than needed," said Enayet, a broker working with Dhaka Store in front of the passport office.
"Pay us Tk 1,000 in tips, we will get you a passport in two days. But it will take you six to seven days if you submit the fees to the bank yourself. We finish the work in less than a week in place of a month and 25 days in place of three months," he said.
The brokers home in on their 'clients' and halt anybody passing by them.
"They have intercepted and tried to harass me. They did not know me," said Waheedul Haque, directorgeneral of the Department of Passport and Immigration.
"We have asked law enforcers many times to clear the area of the brokers. Police drive them away, but they come back and resume their activities after a short time," he said.
"We ask people not to go to the dalals (brokers). But they cannot come to our office straight, as the brokers intercept them on the way and whisk them away with a promise of easing passport processing, which they say is complex and timeconsuming," another top official said.
Some policemen were deployed at the entry to the passport office to stop harassment, but they themselves stop people entering the office. "Police allow brokers to roam the area but sometimes halt passport seekers at the gate instead, letting them be trapped by the middlemen," a passport seeker complained.
Officer-in-Charge of Mohammadpur Police Station Abdul Malek said, "When we raid the area, every broker plays the passport seeker. But the situation is much better than before."
The brokers are not alone to blame. Most of the 22 officials of Sonali Bank, Agargaon branch, where people have to submit fees for new passports or renewals, are also engaged in the deceptive assistance.
The officials are learnt to charge a client 'tips' up to Tk 250 -- less than what the roadside brokers do -- as they have good relations with passport officials. "They get more clients. People trust them as they work in government office," a roadside broker despaired of his low income.
Some bank officials sell passport forms in office, although they are for
free distribution from the passport office. A notice hangs at the bank: "Only passport forms are sold here -not stamps."
Some traders in Agargaon allege the bank officials are interested more in passport-visa processing than official work and keep bank customers waiting in queue for hours.
Two officials have been reported to be working as moneychangers inside the bank.
The manager of the bank, Ayubur Rahman, denied the allegation and said: "I know this happened before I joined on January 14."
During a visit by Star City on November 15, some bank officials entered the manager's room with passports in hand before he asked them to leave and come later.
Many arrested at Zia International Airport for passport fraud were learnt to have their passports processed by brokers and bank officials, who used fake signatures and seals.
Asked to comment on the involvement of passport officials in the fraud, Waheedul Haque said he did not have proof yet, adding: "Still, I will look into it."
He asked the applicants to contact the information desk at the Passport Bhaban for any query or help and not to buy forms from brokers.