Last Updated:February 05, 2026, 18:30 IST Under the government’s ‘Apply Anywhere in India’ scheme, introduced in 2018, applicants are allowed to submit passport applications from any location in the country Ghaziabad authorities discovered that as many as 22 passports were issued using the same residential address. (Representational Image) A major passport fraud case has come to light in Ghaziabad after authorities discovered that as many as 22 passports were issued using the same residential address, mobile number and forged documents. The revelation has raised serious concerns within the Ministry of External Affairs and prompted a detailed investigation into the verification process. The matter surfaced after the Delhi Passport Office flagged suspicious records and alerted local authorities. Following this, Ghaziabad police launched a probe and reportedly uncovered multiple layers of organised malpractice. Investigators found that even a postal employee was allegedly involved in facilitating the fraudulent documentation. In the wake of the incident, the passport department is now moving towards stricter checks to ensure passports are issued only at addresses where applicants have genuine and verifiable …