Pakistani man arrested in Kolkata for using deceased wife’s address to get Indian documents

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Azad Mallik, a Pakistani national, from Kolkata in connection with a fake passport and hawala racket. Investigation revealed that Azad used the address of his deceased Hindu wife’s parental home in Naehti, North 24 Parganas, to obtain Indian identity documents such as Aadhaar. Subsequently, he altered the address on these documents to a North Kolkata locality from where he operated his illegal passport and hawala network.

Azad Mallik, originally named Azad Hussain, first obtained Bangladeshi citizenship through forged documents and changed his name to Ahmad Hussain Azad. After acquiring Bangladeshi citizenship, he entered India and obtained Indian citizenship through fraudulent means under the name Azad Mullik. The forged identity documents facilitated his involvement in the illegal issuance of fake passports and hawala transactions within India and across borders.

His wife, Suchandra Biswas, died in 2022 under circumstances involving the discovery of her burnt body at their residence. Authorities have registered the death as suspicious and are investigating the case further. The Enforcement Directorate continues to probe the extent of Azad Mallik’s network and the full scope of his activities related to identity fraud, illegal citizenship, and hawala operations.