Brokers and corrupt employees at Comilla Regional Passport Office are bypassing the rules and regulations making it next to impossible for passport seekers to get them on time without paying a bribe.
It would be impossible to attain a passport without maintaining a liason with a broker, passport seekers say.
Those who have already got their passports suggest maintaining liasons with brokers before going to get their passport.
The authenticity came to light as a passport seeker filed a complaint with deputy commissioner about how he had to suffer while getting a passport there.
In the complaint, the Complainant Md Alauddin, a lecturer at Brahmanbaria Kashba T Ali Degree College, stated that he had applied for his passport by maintaining all the official procedures, including the payment of the passport fee, on April 24.
Despite no shortcomings in the application, his application was cancelled.
He contacted Senior Office Assistant Shafizul Haq, who suggested that he should apply again by maintaining the “system”.
However, he held firm that he would in no way pay a bribe.
Seeing that he would not be talked into bribing, an official recommended taking his photo and fingerprint.
After his photo and fingerprint were taken, he left the premises.
As per passport form, his passport should be issued and delivered on May 19. As such, he went, but was told that they was not yet ready with his passport.
He happened to be in contact with an Ansar member called Rahman at Room No 202 at the passport office on June 23, when Rahman told him that he would not be able to get his passport until he payed Tk 1500 as bribe.
He was still determined not to pay any bribe and had to return upset from the passport office three times.
On August 10, he again went to the passport office, when he was told that the police verification report had not yet arrived.
Immediately, he contacted DSB Officer-in-Charge Humayun Kabir who told him that he had sent the verification report on May 8.
Based on this allegation, our correspondent could learn from people around the passport office that a person had to give Tk 2500 as bribe in order to get their passport without any delay or harassment.
Of the bribe money, TK 2000 goes to the passport office and the rest to the broker who handle the passport on behalf of its seeker.
Brokers were also seen publicly dealing with the passport seekers by opening shops on the ground floor of the market adjoining the passport office.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Lecturer Alauddin said: “The harassment that I have gone through for getting my passport was a nightmare. I have been phoned from the office to get my passport.”
He believed he would not have been called up for getting his passport had he not complained to the deputy commissioner about this.
Deputy Commissioner Md Hasanuzzaman (Kallol) said: “I have received a complaint about harassment at the passport office. I have assigned an official to delve into this matter.”
Deputy Director at Comilla Regional Passport Office Mohammad Toufiqul Islam Khan was contacted about this; he said he did not know anything about any harassment at the passport office.
