Bangladeshi man held from Ahmedabad airport after years of travel on fake Indian passport

AHMEDABAD: A Bangladeshi national was apprehended at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport in Ahmedabad on Tuesday for allegedly obtaining an Indian passport through forged documents. The incident came to light on May 22 during immigration checks for an Indigo flight to Kuwait.Immigration officer Kuldeep Karmata, posted at Counter 12, flagged passenger Biplob Halder after suspecting irregularities in his documents. Halder presented an Indian passport with a West Bengal address. Upon questioning, Halder admitted to being a Bangladeshi citizen and provided evidence of his parents' Bangladeshi nationality, including national ID cards and a medical report from Bangladesh.Halder showed a digital copy of his Bangladeshi birth certificate issued from Subhadya Union Parishad in Dhaka. The certificate confirmed his place of birth as Dhaka and listed both parents as Bangladeshi nationals. The document was retrieved from Bangladesh's birth and death registration database.Further inquiry revealed that Halder arrived in India with his parents to live with relatives in West Bengal. He claimed that he obtained false Indian documents with the help of a local agent named ‘Chhapan' in Guptipura. Using affidavits and false declarations, Halder obtained a birth certificate from Kalyani Municipality and later acquired an Aadhaar card, voter ID, PAN card, and Indian passport.In 2018, Halder used these documents to travel to Kuwait, where he stayed for six years. He returned to India in Feb 2025 and later went to Bangladesh, where he married a local woman. Upon returning to India, he attempted to travel back to Kuwait when he was intercepted.The documents, including the Indian passport, boarding pass, Bangladeshi IDs, and birth certificate, have been seized. Airport police registered a case of forgery under the BNS and Passport Act and started an investigation.