Fake Passport and Visa Cases Continue to Surface at Mumbai Airport

Cases of individuals attempting to travel using fake passports and visas at Mumbai Airport show no signs of slowing down. The latest incident occurred on December 24, when a man attempted to travel to the UAE using a fake tourist visa. Immigration authorities discovered the forgery during verification, leading Sahar Police to arrest the accused.

The arrested individual, identified as Ravi Kumar Vishwanath Sah, is a resident of Jharkhand. According to Sahar Police, the accused tampered with an employment visa to create a fake tourist visa document and attempted to travel to the UAE, with plans to proceed to Sharjah upon arrival.

As per the police, Sah reached Mumbai Airport on December 24 at 2:20 PM for his flight to the UAE. Immigration officers became suspicious after reviewing his tourist visa documents. Upon questioning, Sah admitted that he intended to travel to Dubai for work and had contacted an agent named Rajan, a Dubai resident. Initially, Rajan provided him with an employment visa, but due to ECR (Emigration Check Required) clearance issues, he replaced it with fake tourist visa documents. The agent instructed Sah to present these documents to immigration officials.

However, upon further investigation, officials discovered that both the employment and tourist visas shared the same serial number, confirming the forgery. Immigration authorities immediately informed Sahar Police, who arrested the accused. Further investigations into the case are underway.

This is not the first instance of attempted travel using fake passports and visas at Mumbai Airport. Statistics released by Mumbai Police confirm the trend. In 2024, 285 such cases have been reported at Mumbai Airport, surpassing the 240 cases recorded in 2023. Police have arrested approximately 295 individuals this year, 30-40% of whom are Bangladeshi and Nepali nationals. In 2023, around 240 arrests were made. Investigations have revealed that most fake passports and visas were issued through offices in Lucknow, Maharashtra, and Hyderabad, with agents charging two to three times the usual fee for the documents. No organized racket has been identified yet, but investigations are ongoing.

Who Takes Action and What Are the Penalties?

If an individual is caught with forged travel documents during immigration checks, the case is handed over to local police officers within the jurisdiction of the respective check-post. Cases are registered under relevant legal provisions, and investigations are conducted by state police.

For fake passport cases, actions are taken under Section 12 of the Passport Act, 1967.

Section 12 (1A) specifies that if a non-Indian applies for an Indian passport or conceals their nationality to obtain a fake passport, they face strict penalties.

The punishment for such offenses is a minimum of one year’s imprisonment (non-bailable), extendable to five years, along with a fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000.

Additionally, separate charges under other legal provisions may apply for forgery of documents.

Passenger Arrested for Smoking on Dubai-Mumbai Flight

A serious incident occurred on an IndiGo flight from Dubai to Mumbai when a passenger smoked a cigarette in the airplane's restroom. The accused, identified as Fasl Mohammed Pilakul from Kerala, has been arrested by Sahar Police.

The incident took place on December 25 at around 3 AM. The control room received a message stating that a passenger seated at 31C on flight 6E-1402 had smoked in the lavatory, causing significant smoke to spread and endangering passengers' safety.

The cabin crew alerted the police, and six additional cigarettes were recovered from the accused. Investigations are ongoing following the arrest.​