A resident of Ranip, Ahmedabad, allegedly swapped his boarding pass with a man from Thane at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to change his destination from Kathmandu to Toronto, according to an FIR.
The incident reportedly took place in the early hours of August 16. An airline employee stopped a passenger bound for Canada after suspecting that his Canadian visa and passport were fake. During questioning, officials found that the man was actually from Ahmedabad and had been cleared to travel to Kathmandu using his voter ID for identification.
According to the FIR, the Canadian visa belonged to the Thane resident, who had already completed immigration formalities for Toronto. The two men allegedly exchanged boarding passes after passing through security, allowing the Ahmedabad resident to travel using the other passenger’s identity.
Police also recovered an allegedly forged Indian passport containing the genuine passenger’s details but a different photograph, along with a fake immigration stamp dated August 15.
Investigators suspect the exchange may have been arranged at the alleged direction of a travel agent. Both men have been booked for cheating, personation, forgery, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy, along with offences under the Passports Act.
Police have seized the passports, boarding passes, identity documents and CCTV footage. Further investigation is underway to determine the alleged role of the travel agent and others involved.