Immigration officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport detained a Bangladeshi national for allegedly attempting to travel to Saudi Arabia on a forged Indian passport and handed him over to Sahar Police for further investigation. The accused has been identified as Mohammad Akhtar Ujjaman Mohammad Amanullah Sheikh alias Akarul Haldar. He has been remanded to police custody by the court in connection with the case.
According to police, Akhtar had been residing in Kolkata for the past 19 years. Investigation revealed that he had obtained a fake Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID card and other forged documents to secure an Indian passport, which he then used to travel to Saudi Arabia for employment.
Vinod Ashok Pawar, an immigration officer posted at the international airport and a resident of BDD Chawl in Worli, was on duty on Monday evening. Around 2 am on Tuesday, Haldar arrived at the immigration counter with the intention of flying to Saudi Arabia, claiming that he was employed there. While checking his passport and visa, officials noticed that he had travelled multiple times to both Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh. When questioned about his trips to Bangladesh, he tried to evade the queries. Upon further interrogation, he admitted to being a Bangladeshi citizen.
During the probe, the accused confessed that he came to India in 2006 from Bangladesh due to poverty and hunger, and had been living in the Darikaulta area of North 24 Parganas, Kolkata. Wishing to work abroad but lacking a valid passport, he approached an agent and procured forged documents, including Aadhaar, PAN, and voter ID, in the name of an Indian citizen. Using these, he managed to get an Indian passport from the Kolkata passport office.
After losing the first forged passport, he obtained a second one and had been travelling to Saudi Arabia for work since 2020. He returned to India in May 2025 for a vacation and was caught when he tried to fly back to Saudi Arabia after his leave.
Following his confession, the accused was handed over to Sahar Police. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Foreigners Act. Police have launched a probe to identify the agents and others involved in providing him with the forged documents and passports.