Mumbai: Passenger Altered Birth Date to Get Job Abroad, Held at Airport

Immigration officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport detained a passenger attempting to travel to Mauritius on a passport allegedly obtained using a forged birth certificate. The accused, identified as Ramesh Kumar, was later handed over to Sahar Police for further legal action.

According to Immigration Counter Officer Bhavesh Bhagwan Rajput, he was on night shift duty from 8 pm on 14 August 2025 to 8 am the next day. Around 12:30 am, Ramesh Kumar approached counter number 35 with an Indian passport and a Mauritius work permit, preparing to board flight MK-749 to Mauritius. Rajput became suspicious about the authenticity of the Mauritius visa and referred Kumar to the wing in-charge. During the initial questioning, Kumar failed to provide any concrete answers.

A further check revealed his Aadhaar card, which showed his date of birth as 10 October 1986, while his passport mentioned 10 October 1990. Unable to explain the discrepancy, Kumar’s baggage was searched, leading to the discovery of his original birth certificate and a copy of his school leaving certificate. Both documents, issued by Kamalpur Gram Panchayat and Mumbai’s National High School respectively, listed his birth date as 1 October 1986.

Faced with this evidence, Kumar admitted that he had deliberately falsified his date of birth to avoid difficulties in securing overseas employment due to his age of 45 years. He revealed that in 2022, he had contacted an agent named Firoz from Mau district, Uttar Pradesh, who charged him ₹5,500 and arranged a fake birth certificate. Using this forged document, Kumar obtained a new passport from the Lucknow Passport Office.

Authorities confirmed that Kumar, son of Phoolbadan and a resident of Piprauta village in Mau district, Uttar Pradesh, had procured the passport illegally by submitting forged documents and providing false information. Following the incident, the Immigration Department filed a complaint and Sahar Police seized all related documents, including the passport, boarding pass, work permit and forged certificates.