A Bangladeshi man was apprehended at Lucknows Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport for attempting to travel to Thailand using a fake Indian passport and Aadhaar card, an official revealed. The individual, identified as Shimul Barua from Chattogram, Bangladesh, was allegedly planning to board a flight to Bangkok using a fraudulent tourist visa.On Friday, passengers of flight FD-147, departing from Lucknow to Bangkok, were undergoing routine clearance at Terminal 3 when immigration officers became suspicious of one traveller, Ashish Rai. The officers noticed discrepancies in Rais documents, which claimed he was from Rathtala in Singur, West Bengal.Identity uncoveredUpon further interrogation by immigration officer Rakesh Kumar Yadav, it was revealed that Ashish Rai was actually Shimul Barua. Barua had altered his name and address to secure an Indian passport and Aadhaar card through fraudulent means. The authorities also recovered Baruas original Bangladeshi passport from his belongings.Custody and investigationBarua was detained at Sarojini Nagar police station on Saturday for further questioning. According to station in-charge Shailendra Giri, Barua is now in police custody as investigations continue.Ongoing issueThis incident is not isolated. In June 2024, three Bangladeshi nationals were caught at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport attempting to travel to Bangkok with fake Indian documents. Many Bangladeshis, facing insufficient earnings in their home country, seek to migrate for better job opportunities in Bangkok, often resorting to illegal means.Furthermore, earlier this year, multiple operations targeting the illegal forging of documents for Bangladeshis in India were busted by Pimpri Chinchwad police in Pune, indicating a broader issue of document forgery.
