Pakistani National Arrested In Kolkata For Fake Passport, ED Probes Terror Links

Azad Mullick, a Pakistani national who was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Kolkata early this year, is at the centre of a big probe into a fake passport and hawala scam. Sources close to the investigation said that Azad first got Indian identification papers by using the address of his late wife, Suchandra Biswas, who was a Hindu.

Forged papers were obtained using the address of her family home in Naihati, North 24 Parganas, which provided a vital connection in Azad's fraudulent activities.

Azad changed the location to a house on the outskirts of Kolkata, which is to the north, when he had these papers. That's when officers caught up with him. According to investigators, this place was the hub of his hawala and false passport operations.

The Pakistani national first became a citizen of Bangladesh under the false identity of Ahammed Hossain Azad after obtaining citizenship under the name Azad Hossain (a scam).  Subsequently, he established his identity as Azad Mullick and utilised similar strategies to become an Indian citizen.

Suchandra Biswas, Azad's wife, passed away in 2022 under strange circumstances. Authorities believe foul play was involved in the discovery of her burned remains at their home. Suchandra may have discovered private information about her husband's illegal activities, which investigators suspect might have contributed to her untimely death.

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ED Probes Possible Terror Financing Connections

The Enforcement Directorate is now deepening its inquiry into Azad's potential ties to terrorist organisations. The ED recently disclosed that they had collected messages from Azad's mobile phones, including both individual and group WhatsApp discussions, during a hearing at a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Kolkata. These conversations included very private details that identified Bangladeshi recipients of hawala money sent from Kolkata.

The ED is also investigating whether the hawala network was being utilised to fund terrorist operations over the India-Bangladesh border, given the nature of the seized texts.

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