Neeraj Bawana was planning to establish foreign base: Police

NEW DELHI: Alleged gangster Neeraj Bawana was planning to establish a new base in Singapore or Thailand for which he was trying to get a passport issued from Kolkata on a fictitious identity, Delhi Police has told a court here.

In a 185-page charge sheet filed against Bawana and nine others including former MLA Rambeer Shokeen, special cell of Delhi Police said Bawana had given the requisite interview for issuance of passport but it was kept pending due to want of verification of the address given by him.

"The issue of (Bawana's) passport was pending for want of verification but due to Bardhaman bomb blast, the verification of the address given by him could not be completed," police said, also alleging that he had spent over Rs one lakh to get the passport.

"Accused Neeraj Bawana was planning to establish a new base abroad at Singapore/Thailand etc where many of his friends are presently residing or working and with a base in a foreign country, he would have kept travelling in to India on a fictitious identity to keep the business of his crime syndicate running," police claimed in the charge sheet filed before Additional Sessions Judge Neena Bansal Krishna.

It said in March 2014, when Bawana got to know that Delhi Police has declared a reward of Rs one lakh on his arrest, he went to Kolkata and spent 3-4 months there.

"The primary motive of this visit was to get a passport issued for him on a fictitious identity. He had applied for a passport in the name of Suraj (resident of Bardhaman, West Bengal).... He had given the requisite interview also and had got done fingerprinting for the purpose," it said.

"The Dy SP concerned had enquired about the profession of the applicant i.e. Neeraj Bawana to which he had replied that he was in the trade of clothing and textiles and required a passport to travel to places outside India for expanding his business," the charge sheet said.