Varanasi: Police in Mirzapur arrested two persons on Tuesday evening in the case of 31 passports that were recovered from a pond. The accused had collected passports of people seeking jobs abroad and confessed to dumping them in the pond. Mirzapur SP Aparna Rajat Kaushik said 31 passports were found wrapped in a bundle in a pond in Tulapur village. Kachhwa police arrested Omkar Gupta and Khaja Yadav in the case. Kaushik said that of 31 passports recovered from the pond, 29 had expired while other two were valid for next few months only.The duo said they worked as agents helping people in getting passports issued and renewed and in visa-related work, while arranging employment abroad. The passports had been with them for a long time. Most passports had expired.They said that to avoid responsibility, they tied all the passports in a bundle and threw them into the pond. Police are taking action against both accused and information about the passport holders is being collected. Kaushik said police were continuing investigation to know how much money was taken from the passport holders and whether any other person was involved.While catching fish in the village pond, a fisherman had found a bag containing the passports and alerted police. Of the passports recovered, 20 were of citizens of Mirzapur, five of Varanasi, four of Bhadohi, one of Jaunpur and 1 of Prayagraj district.
