LAHORE: Agents and encroachers are ruling the roost outside three major passport offices in the provincial capital as not even a single accused taken into custody in year 2015 has faced punishment.

According to officials, loopholes in law, police lethargy in investigation process, lack of evidence and non-pursuance of cases by applicants and passport officials are the major factors behind the release of suspects who resume the same practice in ‘connivance’ with some passport officials and police.

Official figures available with Dawn show the Lahore police, either in coordination with the passport officials or on their own, arrested 84 people who acted as agents or encroachers (vendors who act as facilitators for applicants to fill their fee challan forms) and booked them in 20 cases during 2015.

Up to 69 arrests were made from outside Garden Town Passport Office, two outside Abbot Road and three outside Shahdara passport offices.

The statistics further reveal that six cases are still under investigation; court hearings have yet to start in six other cases in which challans have been submitted (to the court); investigation officers did not submit challans in four cases; in two cases lodged under Section 249 (power to stop proceedings when no complainant) of Criminal Procedure Code 1898 the suspects secured release because of non-pursuance of cases by complainants; and in two cases registered under Section 512 (record of evidence in absence of accused) of CPC 1898 the suspects were declared court absconders.

A majority of cases were registered against encroachers, who act as touts, under Section 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for) and 291(continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue) of Pakistan Penal Code.

A passport official says the responsibility of arresting agents and encroachers from outside the passport offices and getting them punished from the courts lies with police.

He further claims the department only extends favour to the police up to the extent that it calls police reinforcements for surprise raids to nab agents.

He says the courts release the suspects in a day or two in such cases for lack of evidence, adding suspects again start operating outside passport offices by luring applicants under the pretext of filling fee challan forms.Garden Town police investigation in-charge Farooq Iftikhar Khara, however, says sections inserted in the FIRs against agents are bailable offences which always give benefit to the suspects who easily secure bails from local magistrates.

He says there is a dire need to make certain amendments in the existing laws to make the punishment stricter for agents and encroachers.

Khara is of the view that it is not possible to gather evidence and establish it if the agents, in connivance with the passport staff, have received money from any applicant as such deals, if any, are struck verbally.

The officer, however, says the station house officer of the area is responsible to check the practice.

Abbot Road Passport Office in-charge Riaz Shah claims the agents operate outside passport offices not because of passport officials but because of applicants who pay extra for avoiding queues.

He further says some applicants who turn up at passport offices without required documents also contact agents to save their time and travel cost. He says the applicants who are paid extra for passport process or get offers from agents also refuse to become complainants despite requests by passport staff.

Shah recommends registration of FIRs against applicants as well to discourage agent mafia, saying the existing law also needs to be amended with at least six-month imprisonment for both agents and applicants.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2016