75.3pc pay bribe to cops for passport: TIB

Transparency International Bangladesh today said 76.2 percent people became victims of corruption and irregularities during police verification after applying for a new passport.

The anti-graft watchdog made the observations while briefing media at its Dhanmondi office in Dhaka on its study, titled “Good governance in passport service: challenge and doable”, conducted in 2015.

Of them, 75.3 percent service receivers had to pay a bribe during police verification, the study said.

Read More: Passport most corrupt sector

A new passport applier had to pay Tk 797 on average in bribe to police, it added.

On the other hand, 55.2 percent people were victims of various irregularities and corruption in receiving services of the passport office. On an average, Tk 2221 had to be paid in bribe to receive services of the passport office, the study said.

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Of those, who were victims of corruption and irregularities, 35.3 percent were victims of corruption or giving money beyond legal means, 27 percent victims of delay, 2.3 percent of failure to dispense duties, 0.2 percent victims of fraudulence and the rest faced other discrepancies.

Citing the irregularities and corruptions for getting a new passport, TIB also recommended the authorities concerned to drop the system of police verification and attestation of documents and photographs for the issuance of passports.